According to a study presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland, the make-up and volume of gut bacteria in toddlers are predictive of body mass index (BMI) at age 5, irrespective of whether they are born prematurely or not.

The gut microbiota grows and evolves over the first few months and years of life, and any disruption to its development is linked to illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease, Type 1 diabetes, and childhood obesity later in life. However, the relationships between gut microbiota and both childhood BMI change and pediatric overweight remain unknown, and data on preterm newborns is limited.

In this study, the researchers investigated how the gut microbiota of children at 3.5 years old was associated with their BMI at 5 years old and changes in their BMI between 2 and 5 years old. For the study, they included 143 preterm infants and 369 full-term infants. Stool samples from the participants were collected at 3.5 years of age.

The genetic microbiota profiling demonstrated a link between BMI and the ratio of gut bacteria Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, which are directly connected with obesity. The researchers revealed that individuals were found to be on the slimmer side if they had more Bacteroidetes in the gut in comparison to Firmicutes.

The study also showed that a higher percentage of three types of bacteria, namely Eubacterium hallii, Fusicatenibacter, and Eubacterium ventriosum, was associated with a higher BMI z-score. On the other hand, a higher percentage of Eggerthella, Colidextribacter, and Ruminococcaceae CAG-352 was linked to a lower BMI z-score.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/19/toddlers-gut-bacteria-may-predict-future-obesity-study-suggests?trk=public_post_comment-text )