Do Antibiotics Contribute To Obesity?

sciencehabit writes "Farmers have long used antibiotics to make cows, pigs, and turkeys gain weight faster. Now, scientists claim that receiving antibiotics early in life may also make children grow fat (abstract). The researchers believe the drugs change the composition of the bacterial population in the gut in a crucial developmental stage that may have a long-lasting impact."

Comments

They Do, Just Not By Much

[eldavojohn]

No.

That's not exactly right. I read NPR's coverage of this earlier today and vastly prefer their title and interpretation of results:

Could Antibiotics Be A Factor In Childhood Obesity?

It turns out that it's a factor but it's likely a small factor quoting an expert from the NPR coverage:

"Although the effect was small on an individual level," Dr. Leonardo Trasande, the lead pediatrician on the study, tells Shots, "we predict that that this rise in body mass would increase the overweight population in the U.S. by about 1.6 percent."

And to summarize, this is not some over hyped stop using antibiotics trash, the conclusion is:

"We're not saying that children with severe infections shouldn't be treated with antibiotics," Blaser says. These findings just reinforce our need for judicious use of them.

Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Re:No.

[Hatta]

The plural of "anecdote" is not "data". And for that matter, neither is the singular.