Could Probiotics Help Tackle Childhood Obesity?
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Children and young adults could have their obesity managed using probiotic supplementation, suggests Italian data that reveals weight loss alongside changes in insulin resistance with the dietary addition. The research was presented during the European Congress of Endocrinology (e-ECE 2020), which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bifidobacterium breve are probiotic bacteria that form part of the natural gut microbiome. They aid the digestion of carbohydrates and dietary fiber through the release of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), as well as help prevent the growth of Escherichia coli strains associated with obesity.
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@manu Flavia Prodam, MD, PhD, and colleagues tested whether probiotic supplementation with two strains of B. breve would have any impact on children and young adults with obesity. They found not only that their body mass index (BMI) decreased versus placebo but that there were improvements in insulin levels and reductions in E. coli concentrations.