Abstract
Diet and body mass index (BMI) have been shown to affect the gut microbiota of children, but studies are largely performed in developed countries. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional investigation on the differences in the bacterial gut microbiota between normal-weight and overweight urban Filipino children, and determined the relationship between their energy, macronutrient and dietary fiber intakes, and their gut microbiota composition and diversity. Forty-three children (normal-weight, n = 32; overweight, n = 11) participated in the study. Energy and fiber intakes were collected using a semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The gut microbiota was profiled using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of the V3–V4 region. The diet of the children was a mixture of traditional and Western patterns. There were no significant differences in energy, macronutrients and energy-adjusted fiber intakes between the normal-weight and overweight groups, but there were significantly more children meeting the recommended fiber intake in the overweight group. Alpha and beta bacterial diversities did not significantly differ between weight groups. Relative abundance of Bifidobacterium, Turicibacter and Clostridiaceae 1 were higher in the normal-weight than overweight children, and Lachnospira was higher in overweight children.
Highlights
The human gastrointestinal tract consists of a diverse ecosystem of microorganisms collectively known as the gut microbiota
A prospective study investigating gut microbial shifts with changes in body mass index (BMI) reported that the onset of obesity was associated with a reduction in gut microbiota diversity and a shift in composition towards an increased relative abundance of Bacteroideceae and a lower relative abundance of Prevotellaceae [8]. These findings demonstrate the importance of diet and nutritional status in determining gut microbiota composition
Almost half of the study participants received deworming treatment (n = 20), 9 children used antibiotics and 30 had intake of probiotics in the past 6 months before the start of the study, no statistical difference regarding these variables was observed between the weight groups
Summary
The human gastrointestinal tract consists of a diverse ecosystem of microorganisms collectively known as the gut microbiota. Shifts from traditional diets (high-carbohydrate, high-fiber, low-protein, low-fat) to Western diets (low-carbohydrate, low-fiber, high-protein, high-fat) have been shown to influence gut microbiota composition and diversity [4,5]. Children in a rural area of Burkina Faso whose diets predominantly consisted of complex carbohydrates harbored a microbiota depleted of Firmicutes but enriched in Bacteroidetes and taxa known to degrade cellulose and xylan. The microbiota of Italian children, with diets high in animal protein and fat and low in fiber, consisted primarily of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria [4]. In a cohort of Asian children, the high abundance of Bifidobacterium was attributed to the carbohydrate-based diet, which is common in Asia [7]
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