“We’d like to see the use of antibiotics go down significantly, but we also recognize that there are not just medical but also social and economic factors that are part of decisions about antibiotic use,” he said.
Still, he said, these results offer another reason for parents not to insist on antibiotics for their sick child if the doctor advises against them.
“There may be other reasons that are bigger considerations for most parents, such as reducing the chance that their child will acquire antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” Bailey said. “But possibly avoiding a risk factor for obesity is another reason to use antibiotics, like most medicines, when you really need them, but to avoid them when you don’t.”