Numerous studies have been conducted in the past to determine what may cause weight problems among younger generations. A recent study has proven that children taking antibiotics can develop obesity problems at later ages.
- Details of the scientific experiment
- Findings that researchers have made during the experiment
- Future investigations that researchers plan to make
Danish scientists have started their recent study with the intention to discover the factors that lead to children obesity. The experiment lasted for a long period of time, more specifically, from 2001 until 2012. During these years, researchers have looked at the medical record of 164,000 children with ages between 3 and 18 years old. Scientists looked at the medical prescriptions that children received, their body weight and height values.
Surprisingly, they have discovered that most of the children in the study group received antibiotic. By closely analyzing participants’ evolution over the course of 11 years, researchers have discovered that there is, indeed, a strong connection between the use of antibiotics and obesity.
It appears that all the children who have been frequently prescribed antibiotics during the experiment have gained weight by the end of the study. Their physical abilities to process nutrients and food have been severely altered as a result of drug administration, scientists have explained.
There are many facts that support the findings of the current research. Veterinarians and farmers frequently administer antibiotics to animals because these have the ability to make them grow bigger in a shorter period of time. Penicillin has been labeled as a very nutritive substance among farmers due to the boosting effects it has had on animals’ weight.
Scientists think the current study has managed to prove that antibiotics have a similar effect on children, as well. They think antibiotics should be prescribed only when required and that medical experts should find better replacements for penicillin – the figure-ruining substance.
The effects of antibiotics are rarely visible in the years of childhood, but the recently recorded data proves consequences worsen with age. Obesity problems become truly visible in adulthood, scientists have concluded.
Medical experts, on the other hand, claim children often need antibiotics for the treatment of powerful infections. The latter could turn out deadly, if not treated in time; therefore, antibiotics cannot be completely removed, no matter how bad they may be for children’s weight. Here is a brief analysis of U.S. obesity rates.
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