Antibiotics Risk of Obesity in Children: Major Threats in Healthcare System

One of the health related topics, which is consistently receiving attention in recent years, is antibiotic misuse. Interestingly, there is a high-profile report claiming that antibiotic consumption could trigger obesity risk in children. The exhaustive study was undertaken by Schwartz and his team considering 163,820 children between the ages of 3 and 18, wherein they examined body mass index and antibiotic use in the earlier years of life.An association between an average weight gain of approximately 1.4 kg at the age of 15 years and antibiotic consumption in the early age has been found.¹ The striking feature of the study was that antibiotic use at any age in children contributes to weight gain during the later age. The medical literature has much to say in this context, whereas the biomedical literature is scarce in portraying the association between antibiotics and obesity, although antibiotics account for the majority of the medications prescribed to children. This incited us to present this note. Unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise are the main reasons for getting obese. Should, therefore, health care professionals consider the antibiotic-obesity link as a medical issue? Given the answer yes’ would leave us with a false impression on the present paper. Everyday our health problems are facing threats from new links. In the best interests of public health, it is the duty of health care professionals to welcome new insight with open minds. One such is the deadly link between antibiotics and obesity in children Read More. . .