The Hidden Culprit: Predisposition to Obesity as a Result of Early-life Antibiotic Exposure

Abstract

Background: It has been reported that the use of antibiotics is associated with excessive weight gain or obesity in healthy infants. Current data suggest intestinal microbiota perturbation caused by antibiotic exposure in the perinatal period programs the host to assume an obesity-prone metabolic phenotype. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the causal pathway given the multifactorial etiology of obesity. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the significance of the association between antibiotic exposure during critical periods of infancy before the age of 2 and the development of obesity. Methodology: A structured literature review was conducted on databases Medline, Scopus, CINAHL and Google Scholar resulting in 8 pertinent articles. Queries “Infants AND Obesity AND Antibiotic Exposure AND Gut Microbiota” were searched and screened, and infants’ ages were restricted to 1-23 months. Results: Antibiotic exposure during critical periods of early development significantly influenced weight gain and the progression of obesity. Furthermore, marked differences in the composition of their microbiota were exhibited when compared to lean subjects. Few studies concluded that exposure was not consistently associated with increased body mass, while others restricted the association solely to male infants. Conclusion: Over-prescription of antibiotics during infancy not only causes resistance to potentially harmful organisms in the GI tract, but may also lead to a life-long risk for obesity by destroying healthy colonization of necessary bacteria. It is paramount that further research be performed in order to establish preventive measures of obesity and counteract unfavourable effects on microbiota.