A clinical trial about effects of prebiotic and probiotic supplementation on weight loss, psychological profile and metabolic parameters in obese subjects

Abstract

Introduction The management of obesity is difficult with many failures of lifestyle measures, hence the need to broaden the range of treatments prescribed. The aim of our work was to study the influence of pre and probiotics on weight loss psychological profile and metabolic parameters in obese patients. Methods It is a clinical trial involving 45 obese patients, recruited from the Obesity Unit of the National Institute of Nutrition between March and August 2022 divided into three groups: diet only (low‐carbohydrate and reduced energy diet), prebiotics (30 g of carob/day) and probiotics (one tablet containing Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus/day). The three groups were matched for age, sex and BMI. Patients were seen after 1 month from the intervention. Anthropometric measures, biological parameters, dietary survey and psychological scores were performed. Results The average age of our population was 48.73 ± 7.7 years, with a female predominance. All three groups showed a significant decrease in weight, BMI and waist circumference with p < .05. Only the prebiotic and probiotic group showed a significant decrease in fat mass (p = .001) and a significant increase in muscle strength with p = .008 and .004, but the differences were not significant between the three groups. Our results showed also a significant decrease in insulinemia and HOMA‐IR in the prebiotic group compared to the diet‐alone group (p = .03; p = .012) and the probiotic group showed a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose compared to the diet alone group (p = .02). A significant improvement in sleep quality was noted in the prebiotic group (p = .02), with a significant decrease in depression, anxiety and stress in all three groups. Conclusions The prescription of prebiotics and probiotics with the lifestyle measures seems interesting for the management of obesity especially if it is sarcopenic, in addition to the improvement of metabolic parameters and obesity‐related psychiatric disorders.

Genomic Study of Intestinal Microbiota: Assessing the Impact of Probiotics and Healthy Lifestyle on Weight Loss in Adults with Obesity

“…The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes relationship has often been considered as a possible hallmark of obesity, there is still controversy on this issue due to the relative abundance of the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla being highly variable among individuals within the same population [80]. This is likely due to many lifestyle factors, including diet, physical activity, food additives and contaminants, antibiotic consumption, physical activity, among others that influence the composition of the microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract [2,81,82].…”

Modulation of gut microbiota in the therapy of mental disorders – new therapeutic strategies

“…Although limitations such as short intervention periods and lack of gut microbiota analysis were noted, the study underscores the potential of probiotic-prebiotic synergy in ameliorating mental health and inflammatory markers in cardiovascular patients. Similarly, Othman et al's research on obese individuals revealed favourable outcomes in weight loss, improved metabolic parameters, and reduced psychiatric disorders when prebiotics and probiotics were combined with lifestyle changes [48]. Despite limitations including small sample sizes and short intervention durations, these findings advocate for the incorporation of prebiotics in therapeutic strategies for anxiety, depression, and associated inflammatory conditions, underscoring the importance of modulating the gut microbiota for holistic well-being.…”

Are probiotics beneficial for obese patients with major depressive disorder? Opinion for future implications and strategies

“…The studies found that probiotic administration resulted in significant reduction in body weight, depression scores, body fat mass, and waist circumference. In the study by Othmann, significant reductions in depression scores, body weight, and waist circumference were found in the intervention arm (probiotic) and control arm (diet) at the 1-month follow-up, but significant reduction in body fat mass only occurred in the intervention arm ( 65 ). In the study by Sanchez, a decrease in BDI scores was found in the intervention arm between phase 1 and 2, and between phase 2 and baseline, whereas no significant changes were observed in the control arm (placebo).…”