Scientist - News - 07-05-2009:
Probiotics help to combat obesity during pregnancy
Beintema, Nienke
Pregnant women taking Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium supplements are less likely to develop obesity during their pregnancy, according to a recent Finnish study.
Weight gain is a common phenomenon among pregnant women. While the average weight gain during pregnancy is around 12 kilograms in Western countries, extremes of 20 to 30 kilograms are no exception. A recent study at the University of Turku, Finland, suggests that probiotics may play a role in reducing this risk. The results were presented today at the 17th European Congress on Obesity, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Central obesity
The Finnish researchers followed a group of 256 pregnant women from their first trimester until one year after childbirth. The women were randomly divided into three groups. One group received standard dietary counseling on how to reduce weight gain during pregnancy, plus a probiotic supplement containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Another group received counseling and a placebo, and the third group received only a placebo.
After one year, the results – which were corrected for the women’s weight at the onset of the experiment – suggested that counseling had no effect on weight gain whatsoever, but the probiotic supplement did. In the probiotics group, 25% of women developed central obesity – the most dangerous form of obesity, in which most of the fat tissue is concentrated in the belly. This was the case for 43% in the group who received diet advice and a placebo, and for 40% in the group who received no dietary counseling, only a placebo.
Later in life
The results, as lead researcher Kirsi Laitinen stated in a press release issued by the European Congress on Obesity, have implications that go beyond the health of the mother. Earlier research has shown that maternal weight gain also impacts on the physiology and weight management of her child, and not just during its infancy and childhood. "In addition, bacteria are passed from mother to child through the birth canal during birth, as well as through breast milk," said Laitinen, "and research indicates that early nutrition may influence the risk of obesity later in life. There is growing evidence that this approach [involving probiotics, ed.] might open a new angle on the fight against obesity, either through prevention or treatment."
More information:
Press release on Laitinen’s research
17th European Congress on Obesity in Amsterdam
European Association for the Study of Obesity