Antibiotics Before Age Two Exposes Child to Obesity Risk

A new study reveals that if a child is administered three or more courses of antibiotics before the age of two, they become vulnerable to childhood obesity.

"Antibiotics have been used to promote weight gain in livestock for several decades and our research confirms that antibiotics have the same effect in humans," said Frank Irving Scott from University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

"Our results do not imply that antibiotics should not be used when necessary, but rather encourage both physicians and parents to think twice about antibiotic usage in infants in the absence of well-established indications," Scott added in the paper published in the journal Gastroenterology.

A cohort study was performed by researchers on a large population in Britain to evaluate the link between obesity at the age of four years and antibiotic exposure at the age of two. According to the study findings, children that were exposed to antibiotic has a 1.2% absolute and 25% relative growth of childhood obesity risk. The risk was noted highest when there were repeat administration of three or more courses.

"Our work supports the theory that antibiotics may progressively alter the composition and function of the gut microbiome, thereby predisposing children to obesity as is seen in livestock and animal models," Scott explained.

In US alone, antibiotics contribute to 49 million pediatric prescriptions in outpatient visit per year.

More than 10 million annual prescriptions of these antibiotics are written without clear indication, even though there has been increased awareness of the risks of antibiotic resistance. Not only that, there are other risks such as allergic, infectious, dermatological, inflammatory bowel disease and other autoimmune diseases.

To learn its impact into young adulthood and adolescence, further research is required on the subject.