MedWire News: Children with a history of moderate-to-severe middle ear infections may face an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese in later life, research suggests.

Obesity is associated with a wide range of conditions and diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and some types of cancer.

The findings indicate that the prompt diagnosis and treatment of childhood middle ear infections - one of the most common childhood conditions requiring medical attention - may help reduce the risk of obesity in adulthood.

Lead researcher Dr Linda Bartoshuk, from the University of Florida in Gainesville, USA, explained that recurrent ear infections can damage the chorda tympani nerve, which passes through the middle ear and controls taste sensations.

To investigate whether such damage affects an individual's dietary habits, the researchers studied 245 patients, aged at least 30 years, with a history of middle ear infections and 1055 patients with no such history.

All the participants completed a questionnaire on their dietary preferences for 26 common foods and beverages.

The team found that participants with a history of ear infections were more likely to report a higher, more intense preference for fatty foods than those who had not suffered from ear infections in childhood.

Furthermore, participants with a history of ear infections were around twice as likely to be obese as the other participants.

Speaking at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Dr Bartoshuk said: "The more energy dense a food is, the more a person with ear infections likes it. You can see what that would do to weight gain.

"This finding gives a new environmental component to the obesity problem that allows a possibility of intervention."

However, she added: "We need to study larger numbers of people and do taste-testing on them to find out more about this possible connection."