Scientist Examines Possible Link Between Antibiotics and Obesity - NYTimes.com

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*/In Some Cases, Even Bad Bacteria May Be Good/*

By KATE MURPHY

THE HYPOTHESIS

Overuse of antibiotics increases the risk of obesity.

THE INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Blaser, New York University Langone Medical Center.

Overuse of antibiotics has led to the creation of drug-resistant

bacteria --- so-called superbugs, like methicillin-resistant

staphylococcus aureus. But now some researchers are exploring an equally

unsettling possibility: Antibiotic abuse may also be contributing to the

increasing incidence of obesity, as well as allergies, inflammatory

bowel disease, asthma and gastroesophageal reflux.

Among those sounding the alarm is Dr. Blaser, a professor of

microbiology at New York University Langone Medical Center. In a

commentary published in August in the journal Nature, he asserted that

antibiotics are permanently altering microbial flora of the human body,

also known as the microbiome or microbiota, with serious health

consequences....

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/health/scientist-examines-possible-link-betwee\

n-antibiotics-and-obesity.html