Contrary to a previous study saying that antibiotics may put a baby at risk for obesity later in life, a new study suggests that infants who receive antibiotic treatments during their first six months of life don't usually gain excess weight by the time they reach the age of 7.
As everybody knows, antibiotics are the most widely used prescription drugs in children, however, the long-term effects of the drugs in people has yet to be known. While there have been studies linking animals' increased body fats to antibiotic use, there hasn't been any evidence linking antibiotics use to increased weight in children, US News reported.
For the study, the researchers used data on 38,522 single birth children who were exposed to antibiotics during their first six months of their lives in three states (Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). About 14 percent of the 38,522 children received antibiotics in the first six months of their lives, with an average age of just over four months. The data also revealed that the exposure to antibiotics did not really affect the weight gain of the children.
According to Medline Plus, the study also included 92 pairs of twins. The group was split into two: one group was given antibiotics in the first six months of life while the other one did not receive the drugs. The results revealed that in both groups, there were no significant changes in the weight gain by the time the children reached the age of 7. This made the researchers conclude that there is really no apparent connection between children who received antibiotics early in life and weight gain.
"There are many reasons to limit antibiotic exposure in young, healthy children, but weight gain is likely not one of them," researcher Dr. Jeffrey Gerber, from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues wrote.
The video below shows a previous study that directly linked antibiotic use in children to obesity/ weight gain later in life.
