Gut microbiota-derived metabolites as early biomarkers for childhood obesity: A policy commentary from urban African populations

Abstract

Obesity among children is rapidly increasing in urban African settings due to the Westernisation of diets and decreased physical exercise, as well as socioeconomic inequality. Changes in the composition of gut microbiota, especially depletion of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), increase in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and alterations in the bile acid metabolism, are becoming early, non-invasive predictors of metabolic risk. Though comparable microbiome-based early-detection models have been designed regarding Latin American and Asian paediatric populations, the commentary aims at the African urban setting, where a combination of undernutrition and obesity, the use of street foods and the rapid urban-rural migration generate unique microbial profiles. We synthesise data in Nairobi, Kampala, and Lagos, including region-specific taxa such as Succinivibrio, Treponema, and Methanobrevibacter. Our suggestions are specific, low-cost interventions, such as the incorporation of fiber-rich foods into national school feeding programs and the use of Ghana-developed lateral-flow SCFA assays that cost less than US$2 per test. This is a policy-orientated narrative with no collection of primary data. The search of literature in PubMed, Scopus, and African health research repositories (2015–2025) was carried out with the use of the terms associated with gut microbiota, childhood obesity, microbial metabolites, and Africa. Our focus is to transform microbiome science into scalable, culturally appropriate, and cost-effective public health interventions.