Application of gut bacterial profiling information in precision nutrition for obesity and weight loss management

Abstract

Background: It has been suggested that the dysfunction of the gut microbiome can have deleterious effects on the regulation of body weight and adiposity by affecting energy metabolism. In this context, gut bacterial profiling studies have contributed to characterize specific bacteria associated with obesity. This review covers the information driven by gut bacterial profiling analyses and emphasizes the potential application of this knowledge in precision nutrition strategies for obesity understanding and weight loss management. Summary: Gut bacterial profiling studies have identified bacterial families that are more abundant in obese than in non-obese individuals (i.e. Prevotellaeae, Ruminococcaceae, and Veillonellaceae) as well as other families that have been repeatedly found more abundant in non-obese people (i.e. Christensenellaceae and Coriobacteriaceae), suggesting that an increase in their relative amount could be an interesting target in weight-loss treatments. Also, some gut-derived metabolites have been related to the regulation of body weight, including short chain fatty acids (SCFA), trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), and branched-chain and aromatic amino acids. Moreover, gut microbiota profiles may play a role in determining weight loss responses to specific nutritional treatments for the precise management of obesity. Thus, incorporating gut microbiota features may improve the performance of integrative models to predict weight loss outcomes. Key Messages: The application of gut bacterial profiling information is of great value for precision nutrition in metabolic diseases, since it contributes to the understanding of the role of the gut microbiota in obesity onset and progression, facilitates the identification of potential microorganism targets, and allows the personalization of tailored weight loss diets as well as the prediction of adiposity outcomes based on the gut bacterial profiling of each individual. Integrating microbiota information with other omics knowledge (genetics, epigenetics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular and physiological events underlying obesity and adiposity outcomes for precision nutrition.