Medicine shared before 2 years of age can increase the risk of childhood obesity

Childhood obesity prepares a scene for life threats to health, and scientists race over time to discover hidden causes. Now new research indicates an unexpected suspect: antibiotics, medicines of millions of people, including young children, undertake infections, can quietly fuel the problem.

Although antibiotics are drugs that save key life for fighting bacterial infections such as throat, urinary tract infections and pneumonia, new studies reveal a disturbing side effect. Children who receive antibiotics before the second birthday may encounter a 20% higher risk of developing obesity compared to those who have never been exposed, in accordance with the latest findings of research conducted by scientists from the University of Oulu in Finland. The discoveries were presented at the Pediatric Academic Society meeting, which took place in Hawaii.

However, it seems that the influence of antibiotics depends on when the exhibition occurs. Scientists did not find a relationship between the use of antibiotics before pregnancy, during pregnancy or at birth, and later a child’s BMI, which suggests that the exposure window at an early stage plays a key role.

“Exposure to antibiotics in the first two years of life has a stronger relationship with weight gain in childhood than exposure to pregnancy stages or other early centuries. Suppliers must be careful in prescribing antibiotics for young toddlers, especially unnecessary antibiotics in the case of upper respiratory infections. press release.

Scientists discovered these discoveries by following over 33,000 children in Finland, monitoring their antibiotics before pregnancy, in the perinatal period and after birth. BMI participants were calculated at the age of two and 12. The study showed that most children (68%) were prescribed antibiotics during the first two years of life. It was also found that about a quarter of children was exposed to antibiotics during pregnancy, and about a third of them meets them during the vaginal delivery.

Based on the results of research, scientists require caution when using antibiotics. Although necessary for the treatment of serious bacterial infections, they noticed that these drugs are often prescribed for diseases such as upper respiratory tract infections in which the benefits can be minimal.

Scientists also suggest that future research should examine how to take antibiotics at the beginning of life can lead to obesity. Since childhood obesity is still a serious global problem affecting over 159 million school -aged children in 2022, research results emphasize the need to carefully use antibiotics in the early years of the child to help protect their long -term health.