joel
2015-10-31 09:15:02 UTC
A new study finds the strongest evidence yet that antibiotics in
early childhood can contribute to more, and lasting, weight gain
Theres growing evidence of the long-term health problems linked
to too much exposure to antibiotics. Not only are the drugs
becoming less effective as bacteria become resistant to existing
medicines, but they are changing our bodies, particular those of
young children, in potentially unhealthy ways.
In the largest and longest study so far looking at how
antibiotic exposure affects body mass index (BMI), researchers
found that the more doses and the longer children are exposed to
antibiotics, the more likely they are to retain weight gained
and to gain more weight over time.
Led by Brian Schwartz, professor of environmental health
sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
the team looked at electronic health records of 142,824 children
between the ages of three and 18 years. They broke down
antibiotic prescriptions by what effect they had on BMIwhether
it was temporary, or reversible and the weight that was gained
associated with the drugs was lost within a year, or whether the
effects were more long lasting, and the weight didnt come off.
Reporting in the International Journal of Obesity, they found
that having any antibiotic prescription in the past year (most
received two prescriptions on average) before childrens BMI was
measured resulted in a weight gain, but that this weight was
lost soon after the medication was stopped. When the researchers
looked at the cumulative effects of the drugs, however, they
found that compared to children who did not take any
antibiotics, those who did were more likely to gain and hold
onto weight, and eventually even gain more weight by the time
they were 18 years old.
The more antibiotics you get, the stronger the effect, says
Schwartz. And this effect seems to get larger as you get older.
Overall, using antibiotics contributed to anywhere from 1.6
pounds to 3.3 pounds of weight gain during childhood.
Schwartz says that the drugs are likely having this lasting
effect on weight through the microbiome, or the population of
bacteria living in the gut. There is growing evidence that
changing the makeup of these good bacteria, which help to
digest food and maintain the health of the immune system and
intestinal tract, may affect things like body weight.
Antibiotics may wipe out existing microbiomes and replace them
with other, less beneficial bugs, and that may adversely affect
weight. The fact that prolonged and continued exposure to
antibiotics results in additional weight gain seems to support
this theory. A single antibiotic can wipe out an entire
intestinal microbiome, says Schwartz. If antibiotics are
infrequent, then the microbiome can recover. But if there are
excessive antibiotics, then the impacts on the microbiome can
last, and the ecology of the bacteria in the intestinal tract
changes and doesnt go back to what it was before.
While his team accounted for other factors that could affect
childrens weight, they could not factor in the potential
influence of the childrens mothers microbiome during
pregnancy. Some evidence suggests that babies born via Cesarean
section, and therefore not exposed to the mothers vaginal
microbes, tend to be heavier and more susceptible to certain
immune conditions such as allergies and asthma.
The results, says Schwartz, stress the need to use antibiotics
sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. Not doing so could
continue to put more children at risk of obesity, even if
theyre eating right and exercising.
http://time.com/4082242/antibiotics-obesity/
early childhood can contribute to more, and lasting, weight gain
Theres growing evidence of the long-term health problems linked
to too much exposure to antibiotics. Not only are the drugs
becoming less effective as bacteria become resistant to existing
medicines, but they are changing our bodies, particular those of
young children, in potentially unhealthy ways.
In the largest and longest study so far looking at how
antibiotic exposure affects body mass index (BMI), researchers
found that the more doses and the longer children are exposed to
antibiotics, the more likely they are to retain weight gained
and to gain more weight over time.
Led by Brian Schwartz, professor of environmental health
sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
the team looked at electronic health records of 142,824 children
between the ages of three and 18 years. They broke down
antibiotic prescriptions by what effect they had on BMIwhether
it was temporary, or reversible and the weight that was gained
associated with the drugs was lost within a year, or whether the
effects were more long lasting, and the weight didnt come off.
Reporting in the International Journal of Obesity, they found
that having any antibiotic prescription in the past year (most
received two prescriptions on average) before childrens BMI was
measured resulted in a weight gain, but that this weight was
lost soon after the medication was stopped. When the researchers
looked at the cumulative effects of the drugs, however, they
found that compared to children who did not take any
antibiotics, those who did were more likely to gain and hold
onto weight, and eventually even gain more weight by the time
they were 18 years old.
The more antibiotics you get, the stronger the effect, says
Schwartz. And this effect seems to get larger as you get older.
Overall, using antibiotics contributed to anywhere from 1.6
pounds to 3.3 pounds of weight gain during childhood.
Schwartz says that the drugs are likely having this lasting
effect on weight through the microbiome, or the population of
bacteria living in the gut. There is growing evidence that
changing the makeup of these good bacteria, which help to
digest food and maintain the health of the immune system and
intestinal tract, may affect things like body weight.
Antibiotics may wipe out existing microbiomes and replace them
with other, less beneficial bugs, and that may adversely affect
weight. The fact that prolonged and continued exposure to
antibiotics results in additional weight gain seems to support
this theory. A single antibiotic can wipe out an entire
intestinal microbiome, says Schwartz. If antibiotics are
infrequent, then the microbiome can recover. But if there are
excessive antibiotics, then the impacts on the microbiome can
last, and the ecology of the bacteria in the intestinal tract
changes and doesnt go back to what it was before.
While his team accounted for other factors that could affect
childrens weight, they could not factor in the potential
influence of the childrens mothers microbiome during
pregnancy. Some evidence suggests that babies born via Cesarean
section, and therefore not exposed to the mothers vaginal
microbes, tend to be heavier and more susceptible to certain
immune conditions such as allergies and asthma.
The results, says Schwartz, stress the need to use antibiotics
sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. Not doing so could
continue to put more children at risk of obesity, even if
theyre eating right and exercising.
http://time.com/4082242/antibiotics-obesity/