Study author Frank Irving Scott IV, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues performed a cohort study on a large population in Britain to evaluate the link between obesity at the age of four years and antibiotic exposure at the age of two.
Here are four points:
1. Children who were exposed to antibiotics had a 1.2 percent absolute and 25 percent relative growth of childhood obesity risk.
2. The risk was noted highest when there were repeat administrations of three or more courses.
3. In the United States alone, antibiotics contribute to 49 million pediatric prescriptions in outpatient visits per year.
4. More than 10 million annual prescriptions of these antibiotics are written without clear indication.
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