In a recent study published in Microbiology Spectrum, researchers found that differences in the dietary patterns of children with normal weight and those who were overweight or obese contributed to variations in the gut microbiome diversity, virulence factors of gut bacteria, and metabolic function.

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Study: Virulence factors of the gut microbiome are associated with BMI and metabolic blood parameters in children with obesity. Image Credit: Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com

Background

A growing body of evidence indicates that gut microbiota has a significant role in various aspects of host metabolism, including digestion, harvesting of energy, and induction of low-grade inflammation. In addition, the genetic factors of the host, as well as other characteristics such as age, diet, immunity, and gender, influence the gut microbiome composition.

Research shows that bacterial diversity in the gut and the individual's functional capacity vary between those with normal weight and obese individuals. Gut microbiome profile variations have also been linked to metabolic disorders, lipid accumulation, and inflammation.

Lipogenesis in the liver and the regulation of appetite through hormones are also associated with gut microbiome genes.

Aside from its role in adipogenesis, superoxide reduction, and the metabolism of vitamins, gut microbiota also regulates innate immunity and the systemic, low-grade inflammatory state that can contribute to fat deposition and obesity. Therefore, Dysbiosis, which is the imbalance of gut microbiota, combined with diet, likely has a significant role in the development of obesity.

About the study

In the present study, researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from 45 children between the ages of six and 12 to determine the association between gut microbiota and obesity.

Questionnaires were used to obtain information on dietary frequencies, gender, age, and body mass index (BMI). Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) z-scores, in which BMI is adjusted for gender and age, the children were classified into two categories of overweight and obese (OWOB) and normal weight (NW).

Data from food frequency questionnaires were used to classify the dietary habits of children into two nutritional patterns. To this end, Pattern 1 was characterized by complex carbohydrates and proteins, whereas Pattern 2 comprised simple carbohydrates and saturated fats.

Shotgun metagenomics was used to assess the taxonomic diversity of the gut microbiota and metabolic capacity from genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extracted from fecal samples. Clade-specific markers were used for the taxonomic and functional assessment of the gut bacteria. Additionally, reverse Simpson and Shannon diversity indices were calculated.

The virulence factor database was used to screen for virulence factor genes, whereas multivariate linear modeling was used to determine the association between the taxa, virulence factors, and function of gut microbes and covariates of diet, serology, and anthropometric measurements.

Study findings

Significant differences between the alpha and beta diversity of the gut microbiota were observed between the children in the NW and OWOB groups, thus suggesting that specific phyla of bacteria contribute to higher levels of energy harvest.

Furthermore, species such as Ruminococcus species, Victivallis vadensis, Mitsuokella multacida, Alistipes species, Clostridium species, and Acinetobacter johnsonii were linked to healthier metabolic parameters.

In contrast, an increase in the abundance of bacteria such as Veillonellaceae, Lactococcus, Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans, Fusicatenibacter prausnitzii, Eubacterium, Roseburia, Dialister, Coprococcus catus, Bifidobacterium, and Bilophila was identified in children with pro-inflammatory conditions and obesity.

Bacteria such as Citrobacter europaeus, Citrobacter youngae, Klebsiella variicola, Enterococcus mundtii, Gemella morbillorum, and Citrobacter portucalensis were associated with higher lipid and sugar intake, as well as higher blood biochemistry values and anthropometric measurements.

Diets high in fats and simple carbohydrates have been associated with the abundance of Citrobacter and Klebsiella species in the gut. Moreover, previous studies have indicated that these bacterial species are potential markers of inflammation, obesity, and an increase in fasting glucose.

The metabolism of menaquinones and gamma-glutamyl was negatively associated with BMI. Furthermore, the microbiomes of children in the NW group preserved a more consistent alpha diversity of virulence factors, while OWOB microbiomes exhibited a dominance of virulence factors.

Differences in the metabolic capacities pertaining to biosynthesis pathways of vitamins, carriers, amino acids, nucleotides, nucleosides, amines, and polyamines, as well as the degradation of nucleotides, nucleosides, and carbohydrate-sugars, were also found between the NW and OWOB groups.

Conclusions

Dietary profiles and the diversity of gut microbiota were found to be interconnected and associated with changes in metabolic parameters, the dominance of virulence factors, and obesity. Changes in gut microbiome diversity and relative abundance have been linked to obesity, inflammatory responses, and metabolic disorders.

Taken together, the study findings suggested that the prevalence of virulence factors, as well as the metabolic and genetic roles of gut microbiota in increasing inflammation, can help identify individuals at an increased risk of childhood obesity.

Written by

Dr. Chinta Sidharthan

Chinta Sidharthan is a writer based in Bangalore, India. Her academic background is in evolutionary biology and genetics, and she has extensive experience in scientific research, teaching, science writing, and herpetology. Chinta holds a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the Indian Institute of Science and is passionate about science education, writing, animals, wildlife, and conservation. For her doctoral research, she explored the origins and diversification of blindsnakes in India, as a part of which she did extensive fieldwork in the jungles of southern India. She has received the Canadian Governor General’s bronze medal and Bangalore University gold medal for academic excellence and published her research in high-impact journals.