Probiotics may help manage childhood obesity
Probiotics, known for their qualities to help in digestion, may help children and adolescents with obesity lose weight when taken alongside a calorie-controlled diet, suggest the findings of a new study.
The study, presented at e-ECE 2020, found that obese children who were put on a
calorie-restricted diet and given probiotics Bifidobacterium breve BR03 and
Bifidobacterium breve B632, lost more weight and had improved insulin
sensitivity compared with children on a diet only.
These findings suggest that probiotic supplements and a calorie-controlled diet
may help manage obesity in the younger population and reduce future health
risks, such as heart disease and diabetes.
Obesity is a global health concern and can lead to a number of life-threatening
conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. Treatment and prevention is a
serious public health challenge, especially in children and adolescents.
Bifidobacteria are a group of probiotic bacteria that are part of the natural gut microbiome and help with preventing infection from other bacteria, such as E.coli, and digestion of carbohydrates and dietary fibre.
During digestion, they release chemicals called short-chain fatty acids, which play an important role in gut health and controlling hunger. Low numbers of Bifodobacteria may impair digestion, affect food intake and energy expenditure, leading to body weight gain and obesity.
Previous studies suggested that probiotic supplementation with Bifidobacteria could help restore the composition of the gut microbiome, which may aid weight loss and could be a potential approach for obesity management. However, current research uses mixtures of different strains of probiotics and does not examine the effects of administering Bifidobacteria alone.
Dr Flavia Prodam and her team at the University of Piemonte Orientale, aimed to
assess the impact of Bifidobacteria probiotic treatment in children and
adolescents with obesity on a controlled diet, on weight loss, and gut
microbiota composition.
100 obese children and adolescents (6-18 years) were put on a
calorie-controlled diet and randomly given either probiotics Bifidobacterium
breve BR03 and Bifidobacterium breve B632, or a placebo for 8 weeks. Clinical,
biochemical, and stool sample analyses were carried out to determine the effect
of probiotic supplementation on weight gain, gut microbiota, and metabolism.
The results suggested that children who had taken probiotics had a reduction in
waist circumference, BMI, insulin resistance, and E.coli in their gut. These
beneficial effects demonstrate the potential of probiotics in helping to treat
obesity in children and adolescents when undergoing dietary restrictions.
“Probiotic supplements are frequently given to people without proper evidence
data. These findings start to give evidence of the efficacy and safety of two
probiotic strains in treating obesity in a younger population,” Dr Prodam said.
The study suggests that supplementation with probiotics could modify the gut
microbiome environment and beneficially affect metabolism, helping obese
children or adolescents who are also undergoing a restricted diet to lose
weight. However, larger studies over a longer period of time are needed to
investigate this.
“The next step for our research is to identify patients that could benefit from
this probiotic treatment, with a view to creating a more personalised
weight-loss strategy. We also want to decipher more clearly the role of diet
and probiotics on microbiome composition. This could help us to understand how
the microbiota is different in young people with obesity,” Dr Prodam said.
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