Impact of Health Education Intervention and Intrinsic Factors on Microbiota in Overweight Individuals; A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objective The first objective was to assess the influence of a health education program that placed emphasis on improving physical activity level and diet quality on the microbiota. The second objective was to investigate the effect of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on the responses of individual microbiota taxa to the health education intervention. Design A secondary analysis of the Full Plate Diet (FPD) trial, a randomized controlled, clinical trial which included a 10-week health education program at Loma Linda, CA. Setting Drayson Center, Loma Linda University, CA. Method Fecal samples were collected at baseline (Pre) and after the termination of the health education intervention (Post). Bacterial DNA were extracted and 16S rRNA amplicon were then sequenced. Results No significant differences were observed, for any of the groups, in the α or ß diversities between baseline and post-intervention. Baseline microbiome significantly determined the shift of the individual microbial taxa; however, treatment type, gender, and baseline BMI, did not predict this shift. Conclusion A health education intervention emphasizing stress management and improvement in diet quality and physical activity did not have much influence on abundance and diversity of microbiota in a group of obese middle-aged adults. The shift in the microbiome, however, and the responsiveness to health education intervention could be predicted by the baseline microbiome level. Trial Registration Registration number is NCT03232970; July 28, 2017