Medical expert of the article
New publications
Antibiotic abuse leads to obesity
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
According to a note published in the magazine New Scientist, the abuse of antibacterial drugs may be a trigger for obesity, The Epoch Times reports. It is likely that this is due to the familiar fact that the drugs reduce the number of beneficial microflora in the gastrointestinal tract. This microflora, among other things, prevents the development of obesity.
Studies on laboratory mice have shown that the use of antibiotics causes animals to gain weight. Antibiotics are also known to be used to feed animals scheduled for slaughter.
Researchers from the New York Institute fed rodents antibiotics in short courses. The test animals had the lowest values of T-lymphocytes, which are responsible for immune reactions. Which provoked obesity. And scientists from Denmark found that children who took antibiotics for 6 months after birth were more prone to excess weight over the next 7 years.
Antibiotics are often called provocateurs of various complications and negative changes in the body. Thus, some antibiotics have a negative effect on bacteria that live in the intestinal tract and are associated with bronchial asthma. About a trillion microbes live in the gastrointestinal tract.
[