Gut bacteria from toddler may predict whether they will be overweight at 5 years old: study

The make-up and volume of gut bacteria in toddlers at 3.5 years old is predictive of body mass index (BMI) at age 5, irrespective of whether they are born prematurely or not, according to new research, being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland (17-20 May).

To find out more, the study investigated how the gut microbiota of children at 3.5 years from two French nationwide birth cohorts was associated with their BMI at 5 years old and changes in their BMI between 2 and 5 years old, after adjusting for confounding factors including child age and sex, gestational age, delivery mode, ever breastfed, maternal preconception BMI, and country of birth.

Overall, 143 preterm infants were included from EPIPAGE2—a national study conducted in all maternity and neonatal units in France in 2011—and 369 full-term infants from ELFE—a national study tracking the lives of 18,000 children born in metropolitan France in 2011.

Stool samples were collected at 3.5 years. Genetic microbiota profiling revealed a positive association between BMI z-score at 5 years and the ratio of gut bacteria Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes that are directly involved with obesity—the more Bacteroidetes, the leaner individuals tend to be.

Greater abundances of three categories of bacteria—Eubacterium hallii group, Fusicatenibacter, and Eubacterium ventriosum group—were identified as a risk factor for a higher BMI z-score; and greater numbers of three types of bacteria—Eggerthella, Colidextribacter, and Ruminococcaceae CAG-352—were associated with a lower BMI z-score.

Reference :EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF OBESITY,MEETING European Congress on Obesity (ECO2023)