Can Too Much Weight Cause Ear Infections in Kids?

A South Korean study suggests a link, but some U.S. doctors are skeptical.

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, April 16, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists in South Korea have uncovered a possible connection between body fat in children and a certain kind of ear infection, but several specialists in the United States are expressing doubts about the research.

If the link does exist, however, it could provide doctors with yet another indication of how extra fat is bad for kids just as it is for adults. "We have to pay close attention to decrease childhood obesity," said study co-author Dr. Seung Geun Yeo, a researcher at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.

Ear infections in children remain very common, affecting as many as eight or nine of every 10 kids. Doctors blame the middle ear, which often cannot fully drain fluid as it is developing.

Doctors typically prescribe antibiotics, although there is concern that the germs are developing immunity to them.

In the new study, the researchers looked at two groups of children aged 2 to 7 -- 155 who had tubes implanted in their ears to help them drain fluid and recover from ear infections, and 118 who were in the hospital for other reasons.

Technically, the children suffered from a form of ear infection known as otitis media with effusion. Some of the symptoms of ear infections, including ear ache and fever, aren't present when this condition occurs.

The children who were treated for ear infections were fatter than the other children, based on their body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height.

According to the study, the children with ear infections had an average BMI of 22, compared to 16 for the other group. This suggests that extra fat boosts the risk of ear infections.

Total cholesterol was also higher in the children with ear infections.

The researchers also looked at the children with ear infections specifically and divided them into fatter and thinner children. They didn't find any indication that being fatter made kids more likely to have more drainage tubes inserted.

The study was published in the April issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.