TY  - JOUR
TI  - Obesity and antibiotic exposure: an overhyped theory
AU  - Lannoy, Valérie
PY  - 2026
JO  - Exploration of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases
VL  - 3
SP  - 101464
DO  - 10.37349/eemd.2026.101464
UR  - https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/eemd/Article/101464
AB  - The hypothesis that early-life antibiotic exposure predisposes to obesity has, over the past decade, gained substantial traction across both biomedical literature and public discourse. Its appeal lies in a seemingly coherent mechanistic framework: disruption of the developing intestinal microbiota is presumed to induce long-lasting alterations in metabolic homeostasis, thereby promoting increased adiposity. However, reported effect sizes are consistently modest, with odds ratios typically ranging from 1.1 to 1.3, values that approach the limits of residual confounding and statistical imprecision. Studies incorporating rigorous adjustment for familial environment, socioeconomic status, and dietary patterns observe a complete loss of the association, underscoring the dominant influence of these confounders. This review revisits the conceptual emergence and sustained prominence of the antibiotic-obesity paradigm, positioning it as a case study in the amplification of weak epidemiological signals through mechanistic plausibility. Notwithstanding its methodological limitations, the hypothesis has exerted a constructive influence by fostering more judicious antibiotic use and stimulating renewed investigation into host-microbiota interactions within the context of metabolic disease.
ER  -