Obesity and Infection Link?

Medication dosage for children usually takes into account a child’s size and weight however most medications for adults do not adhere to this same principle. An article published in The Lancet (16 January, 2010) by Dr. M. E. Falagas et al. suggested that guidelines need to be considered for the vast number of prescribed medications to enhance effectiveness for heavier patients. He suggested that this may be one of the reasons that obese people are more susceptible to infection after surgery despite prophylactic used of antibiotics. If antibiotics, in particular, are prescribed in accordance with weight and size, it may reduce the likelihood of a development of a resistance.

I believe that this makes perfect sense! If you give the same dosage of medication to someone who weighs 50kg and then someone who weighs 100kg, the metabolism of the drug will differ due to the weight.  May be this is why some overweight or obese people do have more infections and why we and the ‘bugs’ are building up a resistance to many of the antibiotics. Hopefully, this research will lead to further studies and new guidelines in the future.

About

The Mind & Body Program is the brainchild of psychologist and fitness coach Kellee Waters. It is a free resource offered to Australian familes to help combat the growing trend of obesity within the community.

Our sixteen week program targets obesity from a psychological foundation, with an individual and family perspective combining nutrition, activity and skill based education. Our holistic approach not only addresses the problems associated with weight gain and bad eating habits but also aspects such as a lack of motivation and activity, family stresses and a large array of additional problems with obesity for both adults and children.