Antibiotics and Obesity - Professor Susanna Esposito
Channel: WAidid
Date: 2016-03-09

Professor Susanna Esposito (WAidid President) explains the relation between abuse of antibiotics and obesity. 
One of the problems related to the abuse and misuse of antibiotics is represented by dysbiosis. Antibiotics may have an impact on the gut microbiome and they can change the bacterial pathogens that each of us has in the gut, modifying them towards a trend that is more characteristic of the obesity phenotype. This means that, apart from the risk related to the use of antibiotics in terms of increasing of antimicrobial resistance, there is a risk of obesity. This problem is particularly relevant in pediatric age, because children take antibiotics very frequently, even for viral infections. Moreover, an obesity acquired in childhood can be mantained to the adult life and it can be associated with serious problems like cardiovascular disorders or other kind of complications associated with dyslipidemia.