Scientists in the United States have made interesting discoveries about possible links between childhood ear infections and obesity in teenage years and adulthood. The research was presented at the American Psychological Association annual meeting in Boston. The scientists have found that children who had their tonsils removed or who suffered from severe ear infections as children were more likely to be obese when they grew up. The reasoning for this is the fact that severe ear infections or the operation to remove the tonsils (tonsillectomy) often may cause damage to the taste nerves which means that children will favour high-fat-foods as these often have a stronger taste than healthier options. These people, it was found, tended to opt for junk food and sweets.
The survey was carried out on 6584 adults with a history of ear infections. The scientists found that these people were 62 per cent more likely to be obese than people who had never suffered with the condition. Women in their middle age who had suffered from ear infections as children or who had had tonsillectomies also had bigger waistlines than women with no impairment to their sense of taste.
The researchers also delved into the archives to see if these results held true. Analysing data from the 1960s revealed that teenage girls who had suffered with ear infections or who had lost their tonsils were 40 per cent more likely to be overweight at the time the survey was carried out and younger children aged between six and eleven were 40 per cent more likely to be overweight.
It is interesting that childhood ear infections may dictate adult eating habits. Rather like previous articles we have published on The Online Clinic blog, which have dealt with familial patterns of obesity or the presence of a ‘fat gene’ we should remind ourselves that having a propensity towards obesity does not mean that someone actually becomes obese. Someone who is aware that they have a higher tendency than is normal to gain weight should be especially conscious of taking the correct amount of exercise and eating well to counterbalance their in-built propensity to being overweight.