(12-05-09) ECO: Probiotics May Fight Obesity after Delivery

Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

LITTLE FALLS, N.J., May 7 -- A combination of dietary counseling and probiotic supplements helped reduce obesity in women who had given birth, a randomized trial showed.Action Points
Explain to interested patients that this study found that adding probiotic supplementation to dietary counseling reduced body
fat in women who had given birth.


Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented orally at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Women who received the combination treatment starting in the first
trimester had a significantly lower percentage of body fat one year after
delivery than those who received dietary counseling alone or no treatment (27.9% versus 28.9% and 30.4%, P=0.018), according to Kirsi Laitinen, Ph.D., of the University of Turku in Finland.

Inclusion of probiotics also reduced the rate of abdominal obesity (25% versus 42.9% and 40.4%), a difference that was statistically significant six months after delivery (P=0.023) but not at one year, she reported at the European Congress on Obesity in Amsterdam.

Although many factors contribute to obesity, she said, "probiotics could bring something new that is practical, safe, and potentially successful" as a treatment for obesity.

Dr. Laitinen and colleagues explored the effectiveness of probiotic
supplementation in preventing obesity in pregnant women because pregnancy is one of the key factors promoting weight gain in women.

They randomized 256 pregnant women to one of three groups during their first trimester: dietary counseling plus placebo capsules, dietary counseling plus probiotic supplementation, or no advice plus placebo capsules.

The two groups that received nutritional counseling were also given some healthy foods, including spreads and salad dressings containing mono- and polyunsaturated fats and fiber-enriched pasta and breakfast cereal.

The probiotic supplements contained Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis. Supplementation continued for up to six months after delivery or until women stopped exclusive breastfeeding.

Dietary counseling resulted in lower intake of saturated fats
and higher intake of mono- and polyunsaturated fats compared with controls, but energy intake was similar between groups.

The women who received probiotic supplementation were less likely to be abdominally obese.

Dr. Laitinen said the beneficial effects probably involved changes in the composition of the gut flora, which are different in obese compared with lean individuals.

Probiotics "can change the microbiota in a way that the energy harvest and storage, as well as the inflammation which is present in obesity, can be changed and this might have beneficial effects," Dr. Laitinen said.

This study and previous studies have shown that probiotic supplementation does not have adverse effects on the mother or child, she said.

There was no information yet on the health outcomes of the children, but she said the mothers and children would continue
to be followed to address this issue.

She acknowledged that the study was limited because the analyses did not control for prepregnancy weight.

The study was funded by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the Academy of Finland, and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation.
Dr. Laitinen reported no conflicts of interest.


Primary source: European Congress on Obesity

Source reference:
Laitinen K, et al "Dietary counseling and probiotic intervention initiated in early pregnancy modifies maternal adiposity over 12 months postpartum"
ECO 2009; Abstract 1264.

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