Human Gut Microbiota and Obesity During Development

Abstract

Obesity, particularly in children and adolescents, has become a signiicant public health problem that has reached "epidemic" status worldwide. The etiology of obesity is complex and involves lifestyle factors that are challenging to modify. The intestinal microbiota contribute to protection against pathogens, maturation of the immune system, and metabolic welfare of the host but, under some circumstances, can contribute to the pathogenesis of certain diseases. Over the last decade, novel evidence from animal and human studies has identiied associations between human intestinal bacteria and host metabolism and obesity. Infancy is a critical period in the development of the gut microbiota: initial colonization is inluenced not only by a number of early-life exposures, including birth mode, infant nutrition, or antibiotic use, but also by maternal factors during pregnancy, including maternal BMI, nutrition, gut microbial composition, and drug exposure, among others. Thus, an adequate nutritional and microbial environment during the perinatal period and early life may provide windows of opportunity to reduce the risk of obesity and overweight in our children by using targeted strategies aimed to modulate the gut microbiota during early life.

Association of Exposure to Formula in the Hospital and Subsequent Infant Feeding Practices With Gut Microbiota and Risk of Overweight in the First Year of Life

“…Breastfeeding is among the most influential factors shaping the infant gut microbiome because breast milk contains prebiotic oligosaccharides and probiotic microorganisms, including bifidobacteria. 13 Despite this evidence, we do not fully understand how infant feeding practices affect the developing microbiota and influence weight gain. Studies often do not differentiate between partially breastfed infants receiving formula vs those receiving complementary foods, yet these forms of nutrition clearly provide very different substrates for microbiota.…”

Fecal microbiota relationships with childhood obesity: A scoping comprehensive review

“…Breastfeeding appears to be a protective factor against obesity, 84 but the influence on the infant microbiota is largely unknown. Indeed, breastfeeding is an influential factor affecting the infant gut microbiome since maternal milk contains prebiotic oligosaccharides and probiotic microorganisms, such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli 85,86 . These human milk oligosaccharides are thought to elicit a range of metabolical activities beyond providing nutrition to the infant as they may act as prebiotics, 87,88 promoting therefore a “healthy” gut microbiota by providing selective substrates for beneficial bacteria fermentation 80 …”

“…Indeed, breastfeeding is an influential factor affecting the infant gut microbiome since maternal milk contains prebiotic oligosaccharides and probiotic microorganisms, such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli. 85,86 These human milk oligosaccharides are thought to elicit a range of metabolical activities beyond providing nutrition to the infant as they may act as prebiotics, 87,88 promoting therefore a "healthy" gut microbiota by providing selective substrates for beneficial bacteria fermentation. 80 As a consequence, there are differences in the microbial composition of infants nourished with formula and those exclusively breastfed.…”

The Role of Probiotics and Prebiotics in the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity

“…Although its etiology has been associated with an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended, mainly as a result of a poor diet and insufficient physical exercise, it is really a compendium of factors, involving an interaction among genetics, hormones, and the environment [4]. In this connection, recent human and animal studies have shown the influence of the gut microbiota community in the development of obesity, regulating host metabolic functions [5,6]. Furthermore, experimental models have shown that several bacterial strains are able to inhibit or attenuate immune responses associated with chronic inflammation [7].…”