Repeated antibiotic exposure in first 2 years of life linked to childhood obesity

A new study conducted by researchers from the US has shown that young children who are given antibiotics repeatedly are more at risk of turning obese than those who use fewer drugs.
 

The JAMA Pediatrics report said that children who were given four or more courses before turning two were at a 10% higher risk of childhood obesity. 

But the researchers asserted that this does not show that antibiotics are directly linked to obesity and recommend children could use them. They added that some more studies should be done to find out the reasons behind the link. 

The study is done by the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Bloomberg School of Public Health. For the study, the researchers reviewed the health records of more than 64,500 American children between 2001 and 2013. 

The researchers followed the children till they turned five. Almost 70% of the children were prescribed two courses of antibiotics by the time they were 24 months old. 

Prof Charles Bailey at the University of Pennsylvania, said: "We think after antibiotics some of the normal bacteria in our gut that are more efficient at nudging our weight in the right direction may be killed off and bacteria that nudge the metabolism in the wrong direction may be more active." 

He added that the findings of the study show that over prescription of antibiotics could affect the child growth. 

Prof Nigel Brown, president of the Society for General Microbiology in the UK told BBC: "This study adds further evidence that the use of antibiotics early in life has a role to play in obesity. While antibiotic use is only one factor that may predispose children to be obese, the study emphasises the importance of rapid diagnostic tests that allow precise targeting of antibiotics, which will kill the disease-causing bacteria and cause minimum disruption to the normal gut flora."

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.








PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-
HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM/ 

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-

HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/

FOR CROCHET DESIGNS

HTTP://MY CROCHET CREATIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM