Frequent use of antibiotics makes children gain weight faster, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity.
According to scientists from John Hopkins University (USA), antibiotics have a significant impact on the amount of the body mass index (BMI). Based on the analysis of data from almost 164 thousand. Researchers found that adolescents, who often took antibiotics in childhood (at least 7 times), at the age of 15 weighed an average of about 1,5 kg more than their peers who managed to avoid this type of treatment.
“Although the weight gain associated with antibiotic use appears modest at this age, our study suggests that this is a cumulative effect that may worsen over the years,” comments one researcher, Brian S. Schwartz.
The adverse effect of antibiotics is probably due to their influence on the modification of the composition of the microbiota – microorganisms inhabiting our body, many of which occur in the digestive system, where they facilitate digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Antibiotic therapy destroys bacteria – including the good ones – which can permanently modify the composition of the microbiota, and thus change the way we process food. As a consequence, it causes the absorption of more calories and weight gain.
Previous studies have shown that antibiotics such as penicillin also cause weight gain in animals. This phenomenon is used by numerous breeders who regularly add small amounts of antibiotics to animal feed to make the animals as fat as possible in a short time.
«If antibiotics are not needed, it is better to refrain from this form of treatment. It is more important than ever for doctors to protect young patients from using drugs that not only will not help them, but may harm them in the long run, »says Schwartz.