Infections May Be Linked To Childhood Obesity, New Analysis Shows.

reports a new analysis suggests that infections in infancy may be tied to childhood obesity. Researchers tracked 260,556 infants using a database that included “details on antibiotic use, diagnosis and height and weight measurements from birth through age 18.” The findings were published in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. Is use of antibiotics in infancy tied to childhood obesity? Some studies suggest so, but a new analysis suggests the link may be with infections, rather than antibiotics. The scientists compared children who had no infections and no antibiotic use in the first year of life with those who had untreated infections. They found that an infant with one untreated infection had a 15 percent increased risk for childhood obesity, and the risk increased to 40 percent in those with three untreated infections. But there was no difference in obesity risk between infants treated with antibiotics and those with a similar infection left untreated. In other words, infections, but not the use of antibiotics, were associated with childhood obesity. So HOW does infection do this???? http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/well/live/infections-not-antibiotics-may-be-tied-to-childhood-obesity.html?_r=0