The ecology of the microbiota in children with obesity is associated with the intake of carbohydrates and insulin resistance

Background & aims

Among diet, microbiota, and obesity exists a close correlation that remains insufficiently explored, particularly within the pediatric age. We aimed to deeply investigate the relationship between dietary composition and microbiota in pediatric subjects with obesity before an educational training in a Mediterranean-style diet.

Methods

55 subjects (10–18 years) with overweight or obesity and visceral adiposity, diet naïve, or failure to a previous weight loss program were phenotypically described through clinical and metabolic parameters, including circulating LPS levels. 16S DNA sequencing was used to profile the microbiota. Lifestyle habits (KIDMED score, 24-h recall, International Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents) and diet composition were assessed.

Results

Five different main enterotypes were found. Females at the end of puberty were well separated from the other subjects in the principal component analysis. Microbiota composition changed with the progression of puberty, and LPS levels negatively correlated with Tanner stages. Gut microbiota composition, considering all the clinical parameters, was significantly modulated mostly by the percentage of carbohydrate intake and insulin resistance. Carbohydrate intake ranging from 45 to 55 % determined a high number of species, but with a reduction of biodiversity (Shannon and Simpson indexes). Bacteroides dorei, Turicibacter sanguinis, and B. vulgatus were among the main species involved in signatures of carbohydrate intake, whereas an enrichment in Bacteroides stercoris was found in subjects with a low fiber intake. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a great presence of dietary fiber metabolizers, including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Lachnospira sp. Alistipes finegoldii and Akkermansia muciniphila were more represented in low insulin resistance, while Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum and Clostridium clostridioforme were enriched in patients with high insulin resistance.

Conclusion

Carbohydrate content of the diet, insulin resistance, and microbiota are strictly related in children with obesity. A certain degree of dysbiosis could link obesity to a severe phenotype. Since gender and puberty status impact the microbiota signature, clustering pediatric patients for diet intervention is a challenge.