Too Much Antiobiotics Make Children Gain Weight: Study

In a new study conducted on about 164,000 children in Pennsylvania it is found those who have been given antibiotics during the course of their childhood runs the risk of gaining weight faster compared to those who were not given such medicines in childhood.

Details of the study are published online on the website of International Journal of Obesity. It writes antibiotic alters the body mass index (BMI) forever.

The study was led by Brian S. Schwartz, MD, MS, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Bloomberg School. He said the weight is increased by about 3 pounds among youngsters at age 15 who have been given antibiotics seven or more times during their childhood period compared to those who were not given the antibiotics.

Professor Schwartz added, “Our data suggest that every time we give an antibiotic to kids they gain weight faster over time.”

He and his colleagues tracked down the electronic health records of Geisinger Health System on the children between 3 and eighteen years old for twelve years from January 2001.

In the study it was also found about 21 percent of the children had been given at least seven prescriptions during their childhood.