Antibiotics May Cause Obesity, Experts Observe

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A recent study has led to observations that the states where obesity rates are high are those where doctors recommend more amounts of antibiotics. So how can such pills prescribed by even the best of doctors lead to weight gain?

Kiera Butler, a writer for the website Mother Jones, was the one who led to this interesting theory after reviewing a study published on the New England Journal of Medicine. Lauri Hicks, the study's lead author, revealed various patterns related to antibiotic prescriptions. In terms of number of prescription for every one thousand individuals, the Southeast part of the U.S. had the highest rate, particularly West Virginia, while Alaska is one the leasts on the list.

Surprising to  everyone though was its correlation to another pattern, and that is obesity. Hicks and her team discovered that all the states which have bigger antibiotic usage also tend to have high rates of obesity.

The study also related the results with the income of the states, with those belonging to the lower median average as those who also have higher rates of the antibiotic prescription. Hicks emphasized, however, that it is not clear whether the antibiotic use is the one causing obesity. With this, she recommends more research to be done to further establish the connection between the two.

Hicks notes though, that if there is one lesson that everyone must learn from this potential discovery, that is that doctors must be more cautious in prescribing antibiotics. Besides, it is not just obesity that can serve as an effect of over usage of antibiotics.

"A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that doctors commonly prescribe antibiotics for symptoms such as sore throat and bronchitis-which don't usually require the drugs," Butler wrote on her article.

Notably, Scientific American also reported that antibiotics can also cause weight gain among mice due to the changes it can cause in the animal's gut microbiome.