Weighing 194kg at Age 12... Due to Side Effects of 'Igeot' in Childhood

Chinese girl develops pediatric obesity due to antibiotic side effects
Correlation also proven in domestic studies

A story has emerged of a Chinese girl who developed fatal levels of childhood obesity in her teens due to excessive antibiotic side effects at 6 months old.

On the 3rd (local time), the Chinese online media 'Bastille' reported the story of a 12-year-old girl named Lanlan living in Henan Province. Lanlan suffered from a high fever for half a year around 6 to 7 months after birth, and at that time, the doctor prescribed a large amount of antibiotics to treat her. However, the antibiotics taken then caused fatal side effects to Lanlan's body. She suddenly began to gain weight rapidly.

A Chinese girl who developed severe childhood obesity due to excessive antibiotic use during infancy and early childhood
[Image source=Online homepage capture]

Lanlan's father told the media, "Since taking the medicine, my daughter's weight started to increase," adding, "Lanlan is now 150 cm tall but weighs 194.4 kg." He also lamented, "The whole family tried to control her diet, but it was useless." Currently, Lanlan's heart and kidney functions have deteriorated due to obesity, and she must rely on a ventilator to breathe, let alone walk.

Lanlan's mother said, "Even if I want to send Lanlan to school, the school refuses her because of the risk of accidents," and added, "We even sold our house to pay for her medical expenses." Recently, Lanlan was hospitalized due to unstable breathing. She is scheduled to undergo a 'gastrectomy,' a surgery that removes part of the stomach and connects the other part to the small intestine so that food bypasses the stomach and goes directly to the small intestine.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that excessive antibiotic use in early childhood can lead to childhood obesity like Lanlan's case. Previously, in 2020, Professor Park Sang-min's team at Seoul National University Hospital published related research findings.

The study, published in the prestigious international journal Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental, analyzed the impact of antibiotic administration within 24 months of birth on childhood obesity among 31,733 infants who underwent health checkups from 2008 to 2012. The results showed that the number of antibiotic types administered, duration of use, and the age at first administration all influenced childhood obesity.

The more types of antibiotics administered, the higher the risk of childhood obesity. Also, the longer the antibiotics were used, the higher the obesity risk. Using antibiotics for more than 180 days increased the risk of obesity by 40% compared to using them within 30 days.

The timing of the first antibiotic administration was also important. If antibiotics were first given within 6 months after birth, the risk of obesity was 33% higher than if first given between 18 and 24 months. The research team attributed these results to the 'gut microbiota.' They analyzed that microorganisms in the gut were damaged by antibiotics, increasing the probability of obesity.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.