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Antibiotic treatment in childhood triggers obesity
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Young children (under two years old) who have undergone at least four courses of antibiotic treatment are more likely to become obese in the future than their peers. This statement was made by specialists from the United States. As scientists noted, broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs increase the likelihood of obesity by the age of five by 11%.
In all likelihood, antibacterial drugs provoke a disruption of the intestinal microflora, which is the reason for the appearance of extra pounds in the child. The head of the research project, Charles Bailey, noted in his explanation that frequent use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in children under two years of age is definitely the cause of excess weight. At the same time, scientists have determined that narrow-spectrum antibacterial drugs, even after two or more courses, did not cause a similar effect.
According to experts, it is in the first two years of a child's life that the main changes begin in the child's diet, and the intestinal microflora develops rapidly during this period. A violation of the microflora in the first years of a child's life can significantly affect his health in the future, so experts have called on all pediatricians to abandon the practice of treating children under two years of age with broad-spectrum antibiotics. The scientists confirmed their words with the results of studies of more than 64 thousand medical records of children. In addition, experts are confident that abandoning broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs will help get rid of another significant problem - drug resistance. Earlier studies found that antibiotics were powerless in every sixth case due to the developed drug resistance of the body.
In addition, another study found that antibiotics can cause death. The most popular antibacterial drug, clarithromycin, turned out to have a serious side effect. As studies have shown, clarithromycin increases the likelihood of death from heart and vascular diseases.
Clarithromycin is a macrolide that can cause serious ventricular arrhythmia, but until recently there was no evidence to support this.
Experts tested the effect of two common macrolide antibiotics on the body – clarithromycin and roxithromycin – on patients aged 40 to 74 years.
Scientists analyzed more than five million cases of antibiotic treatment. Among all courses of antibacterial therapy, more than 4 million patients were treated with penicillin, about 160 thousand with clarithromycin, and about 590 thousand with roxithromycin. In total, scientists noted 285 fatal cases from heart and vascular diseases during antibiotic treatment (32 deaths were recorded among patients undergoing a course of roxithromycin, 18 - clarithromycin).
As a result of calculations, specialists determined that clarithromycin increases the probability of death from cardiovascular diseases by 76% compared to patients taking penicillin antibiotics. Among patients undergoing a course of roxithromycin, an increase in the mortality rate was not recorded.