Source: BBC NEWS
Young children who are given repeated courses of antibiotics are at greater risk than those who use fewer drugs of becoming obese, US researchers say.
The JAMA Pediatrics report found children who had had four or more courses by the age of two were at a 10% higher risk of being obese.
But scientists warn this does not show antibiotics cause obesity directly and recommend children continue using them.
Many more studies are needed to explain the reasons behind the link, they say.
Targeted therapy
US researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Bloomberg School of Public Health reviewed the health records of more than 64,500 American children between 2001 and 2013.
The children were followed up until they reached five years of age.
Almost 70% of them had been prescribed two courses of antibiotics by the time they were 24 months old.
But those who had four or more courses in this time were at a
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