Overweight and obese children metabolize over-the-counter drugs differently than normal weight children do, according to a new small study from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy.
This poses two dangers to these children: they can metabolize the drugs into inactive forms and get no benefit from taking their medicines; or they can metabolize them into active forms and become overmedicated.
Dr. L'Aurelle Johnson and her colleagues monitored 16 normal weight children and nine obese ones ages six to ten years old as they drank caffeinated colas and took an over-the-counter cough medicine. The obese children showed higher levels of activity for two key enzymes after they ingested caffeine.
"There could be severe implications," Dr. Johnson said. "We might need to take into account a child's physiological condition -whether they're obese or non-obese- when determining dosage."
This study was presented at the meeting of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
Posted By: Jane St. Clair
