Bacterial Microbiota and Fatty Acids in the Faeces of Overweight and Obese Children

Abstract

The growing number of children with overweight and obesity constitutes a major health problem of the modern world and it has been suggested that intestinal microbiota may influence energy intake from food. The objectives of this study were to determine quantity and proportions of dominant genera of Bacteroides, Prevotella (phylum Bacteroidetes); Clostridium, Lactobacillus (phylum Firmicutes) and Bifido bacterium (phylum Actinobacteria) in the intestines and to determine the content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) in the stool of 20 obese children and 20 children with normal body weight. Strains classified as Firmicutes (Clostridium and Lactobacillus) predominated in stool microbiota of obese children, while those of Bacteroidetes (Prevotella and Bacteroides) were in minority (p < 0.001). Concentration of SCFAs in the stool of obese children was lower in comparison to the stool of normal weight children (p = 0.04). However, these differences were significant only in obese children, not in overweight children in comparison with the lean ones. Therefore, in our study obesity was associated with intestinal dysbiosis and a predominance of phylum Firmicutes. Secondly, stool of obese children contained lower amounts of SCFAs.

Short Chain Fatty Acids and Fecal Microbiota Abundance in Humans with Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…After we further examined the 29 identified articles, 22 articles were excluded (Supplementary Table S2). Finally, we identified seven articles that met the inclusion criteria [8,9,10,11,13,24,25]. The overall quality of the studies averaged eight stars (range, 7–9) on a scale from zero to nine stars (Supplementary Table S3).…”

“…However, in human studies, there have been mixed results regarding the relationship between SCFAs and obesity. For example, some studies have reported a positive correlation between fecal SCFA concentrations and obesity [8,9,10]; however, others have reported a negative relationship between SCFA levels and obesity [11].…”

Postbiotics against Pathogens Commonly Involved in Pediatric Infectious Diseases

“…Promising preliminary studies show that SCFAs may play a role in energy metabolism and stimulate secretions of hormones that enhance food absorption [ 130 ]. However, the role of SCFAs in obesity still remains controversial due to mixed results from clinical studies [ 131 , 132 ]. On the other hand, in developing countries, malnutrition affects many children that become predisposed to infections [ 133 ].…”

Health Impact and Therapeutic Manipulation of the Gut Microbiome

“…However, it is not yet established whether the changes in certain bacterial populations could be strong biomarkers of obesity or T2DM. While the Firmicutes to Bacteroides ratio in the gut may be higher during obesity but reduced in lean people [102][103][104][105], a systematic review of available literature indicates that the differences do not represent a consistent feature for distinguishing lean individuals from obese ones [106]. Interestingly, some human studies showed no changes in the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio between fecal samples of lean and obese subjects [107][108][109][110].…”