PROBESITY-2: Synbiotics in Pediatric Obesity

The global obesity epidemic presents an unprecedented challenge to the public health worldwide. The factors associated with obesity are complex, and include health behaviours, such as eating habits and daily physical activity, and broader social, environmental and biological determinants that influence these health behaviours. The intestinal microbiota has several beneficial functions related to host health and accumulating evidence indicates that the gut microbiota plays a significant role in the development of obesity, obesity-associated inflammation and insulin resistance. Differences in community composition, functional genes and metabolic activities of the gut microbiota appear to distinguish lean vs obese individuals, suggesting that gut 'dysbiosis' contributes to the development of obesity and/or its complications. Recent studies have suggested some beneficial effects of probiotics and/or prebiotics on obesity and metabolic syndrome in adults; such experience is limited in children and adolescents. There are limited information about the synbiotics in children and adolescent with obesity.The mechanism of action of probotics on obesity are scarce and microbiota restoration/reshaping might be the one. The objective of this study tested the effects of a multispecies synbiotic on anthropometric measurement, glucose metabolism, lipid parameters and intestinal microbiota in children with exogenous obesity.