Antibiotics can make your kid obesed at any age
London, UK: Babies who take antibiotics are more likely to gain weight later in life, a new study reveals. The study showed that kids given antibiotics between birth and 5 months of age were 22 % more likely to gain weight at the age of 3.
However, interesting thing is that the timing of giving antibiotics mattered. Children given antibiotics between 6 months and 14 months had no weight issue at the age of 3. This suggests that early 6 months are the “window of special vulnerability to exposure”, as per the research published in August issue of the International Journal of Obesity.
Dr. Leonardo Trasande, study researcher & associate professor of pediatrics and environmental medicine at New York University School of Medicine, said that ”We typically consider obesity an epidemic grounded in unhealthy diet and exercise, yet increasingly studies suggest it’s more complicated. Microbes in our intestines may play critical roles in how we absorb calories, and exposure to antibiotics, especially early in life, may kill off healthy bacteria that would otherwise keep us lean.”
In this study, Trasande and colleagues used antibiotics in 11,500 children born in the United Kingdom between 1991 and 1992.
Filed in: Health
