DHAKA: Children give antibiotics such as penicillin during the early stages of life could be become obese later on, a new study has suggested.

Researchers found that mice given low doses of penicillin as babies developed slower metabolisms, and were therefore more likely to become obese as they got older, reports the Daily Mail Online on Sunday.

It said that scientists believe this is because the antibiotics disrupted levels of key bacteria in the gut, leading to the body's metabolism reprogramming itself.

Dr. Martin Blaser, director of the NYU Human Microbiome Program, and senior author of the study, said: 'We found that when you perturb gut microbes early in life among mice and then stop the antibiotics, the microbes normalize but the effects on host metabolism are permanent.

'This supports the idea of a developmental window in which microbes participate. It's a novel concept, and we're providing direct evidence for it.'

The findings support and earlier study which showed children given antibiotics before six months of age were more likely to be overweight as seven-year-olds.

Blaser told The Guardian: 'If a kid is ill, there is no question that they should get antibiotics, but if it's marginal perhaps the doctor should be saying "let's wait a day or two" before taking another look.

BDST: 1217 HRS, AUG 17, 2014