The study "Association of Antibiotics in Infancy With Early Childhood Obesity" published in JAMA Pediatrics stated that repeated exposure to broad spectrum antibiotics before the age of two years old is associated with early childhood (2-5 years old) obesity. Sixty-nine percent of the children in the study had taken antibiotics before the age of two. They averaged 2.3 antibiotic courses per child during that time. They also found that broad-spectrum antibiotics put kids at the highest risk compared to narrow-spectrum drugs. They believe that altering the gut microbes, alters digestion of food which changes the amount of calories and how energy gets extracted. Obesity in early childhood is a risk factor for obesity in adulthood, but it's still early enough to intervene and change the outcome. The authors state that using more specific antibiotics, and not broad spectrum antibiotics, might help lower the risk for childhood obesity. This was an observational cohort study so cause and effect can't be determined, but it is an interesting association that could help identify modifiable factors for the risk of obesity during childhood.
Bailey LC, et al. Association of Antibiotics in Infancy With Early Childhood Obesity. JAMA Pediatrics. Published online September 29, 2014. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.1539
http://time.com/3445232/antibiotics-children-obesity/
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