Abundance of Gut Microbiota, Concentration of Short-Chain Fatty Acids, and Inflammatory Markers Associated with Elevated Body Fat, Overweight, and Obesity in Female Adolescents

Abstract

Background and Aims. Overweight is ever more prevalent in the pediatric population, and this cardiometabolic factor can be associated with inflammatory markers, gut microbiota composition, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations. The aim of this study is to evaluate to what extent the abundance of gut microbiota phyla, SCFA concentrations, and inflammatory markers are associated with elevated body fat percentage (BF%), overweight, and obesity in female adolescents. Methods. An experimental and comparative study was conducted with 96 girls 14 to 19 years old. They were divided into 3 groups: G1—eutrophic (EUT) and adequate BF%; G2—EUT and high BF%; and G3—overweight (OW) or obese (OB) and high BF%. Waist circumference (WC), waist to height ratio (WtHR), and neck circumference (NC) were analyzed as indicators of central visceral adiposity. The BF% was evaluated by DEXA equipment. A food frequency questionnaire was used to evaluate the main types of food consumed in a week. The abundance of the Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria phyla was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and the SFCA concentrations (acetic, butyric, and propionic) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The inflammatory markers leptin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were assessed. Results. Female adolescents in groups G2 and G3 had greater central visceral adiposity and leptin concentration than those in group G1. No association was found between gut microbiota phyla abundance and SFCA concentrations in any of the groups. WC and frequency of consumption of oily and fatty foods were associated with Firmicutes abundance and SFCA concentrations. Girls with high WC also had the greatest leptin (p<0.001) and hs-CRP (p=0.035) concentrations. Conclusions. Inflammatory markers showed association with increased BMI and high BF% in female adolescents. The abundance of Firmicutes was associated with WC and NC, but not with BMI classification or BF%. Specifically, WC and the consumption of oils and fats showed correlation with SCFA concentrations. Different anthropometric indicators, such as NC and WC, should be incorporated into the clinical evaluation of the nutritional status of individuals in the adolescent population.

Association of Lifestyle and Body Composition on Risk Factors of Cardiometabolic Diseases and Biomarkers in Female Adolescents

“…These findings are in consonance with the systematic review study carried out by [ 49 ] where biomarker as hs-CRP was correlated with physical activity and subjects' dietary habits. In addition, an association between overweight (assessed by BMI), high BF%, and central fat accumulation in adolescents were also identified by Miranda et al [ 50 ] and Elizondo-Montemayor et al [ 21 ]. In the present study, results showed that the girls from the Inactive & Sedentary LS class displayed the higher levels of blood pressure (SBP and DBP) and TNF- α concentration.…”

“…The overweight or obese adolescents with elevated BF% (G3) displayed higher values of blood pressure, changes in biochemical parameters, and higher concentrations of hs-CRP, when compared to the eutrophic with adequate BF% (G1). In a previous study conducted by our group [ 50 ], adolescents from the EUT & High %BF and OW-OB & High BF groups displayed a higher concentration of central, visceral fat, and leptin than the EUT & Adequate %BF group. These results highlight the role of BF% in the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors.…”

Circulating Short-Chain Fatty Acids Are Positively Associated with Adiposity Measures in Chinese Adults

“…Several cross-sectional studies have reported positive associations between fecal SCFAs levels and obesity [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. For example, a community-based study of 441 Colombian adults aged 18–62 years demonstrated that higher fecal butyrate, acetate, propionate and total SCFAs were associated with BMI, body fat, and waist circumference [ 17 ].…”

“…Nevertheless, not all epidemiological studies that support positive associations between SCFAs and adiposity measures also suggest the potential involvement of gut microbiota [ 13 , 16 , 17 , 19 , 20 ]. Whereas a recent meta-analysis of case-control studies found no evidence of association between obesity and phyla richness [ 16 ], other studies found that higher fecal SCFAs were associated with lower microbiota diversity, as well as higher gut permeability, Firmicutes/Bacteriodetes ratio and cardiometabolic disease-associated taxa [ 17 , 19 ].…”

“…There has been a lack of large population-based studies with large variation in dietary intake and gut microbiota composition to examine the incongruent experimental results in free-living people. Although a few community-based studies and case-control studies of fecal SCFAs in Western human populations support positive associations between SCFAs with overall body mass and central adiposity [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], few population-based studies have examined plasma SCFAs, which, in contrast to fecal SFCAs, may better represent the fraction of SCFAs that enter the host blood stream as a potential source of energy [ 21 ]. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the cross-sectional associations between plasma SCFAs with two adiposity measures, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in a socio-demographically diverse cohort of Chinese adults consuming a range of traditional and Western diets.…”