There are many factors that relate to what has already become the epidemic of the 21st century, childhood obesity. The main ones are an unbalanced diet and lack of exercise, but there are other causes that could contribute to developing the disease, as a new study has revealed, giving babies antibiotics before six months could lead to obesity.
It is hard to find a logical relationship between antibiotics and obesity, but there is. Antibiotics are not harmless medications, and irresponsible use can have consequences, especially in young babies.
The link between antibiotics at a young age and obesity is that exposure to antibiotics, especially at an early age, could end up with healthy bacteria that influence how we process nutrients in our body. The microbes present in our intestines play a key role in how we absorb calories.
The study was based on data from more than eleven thousand children born in the British Avon region between 1991 and 1992. It was found that children treated with antibiotics in the first five months of their life weighed more in relation to their height than those who were not exposed to them.
The difference was small between 10 and 20 months of age, but at 38 months, children exposed to antibiotics had a 22% more chance of being overweight.
It is not the first time that there is talk of a modification of intestinal bacteria. The same effect seems to cause birth by caesarean section because it prevents the baby from being colonized by a certain type of intestinal bacteria, which does get in the vaginal birth, which protects it from obesity.
In short, antibiotics are medications that must be used responsibly, only for when they are useful, to cure infections caused by bacteria. And take special care before giving them to small babies.
