Regulation of abdominal adiposity by probiotics (Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055) in adults with obese tendencies in a randomized controlled trial

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 64; no. 6; pp. 636 - 643
• Main Authors: Kadooka, Y, Sato, M, Imaizumi, K, Ogawa, A, Ikuyama, K, Akai, Y, Okano, M, Kagoshima, M, Tsuchida, T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.06.2010; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/45/776/1178; 692/699/1503/1702/393; 692/700/565/2072; Abdomen; abdominal fat; Abdominal Fat - metabolism; Active control; Adiponectin; Adiponectin - blood; Adipose tissue; Adipose tissues; Adult; Adults; Biological and medical sciences; blood; Blood cholesterol; Body fat; Body Mass Index; Body size; Body Weight; Clinical Nutrition; Clinical trials; Composition; Computed tomography; Confidence intervals; Control; Double-Blind Method; drug therapy; Epidemiology; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; fermented milk; Fermented milk products; functional foods; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health aspects; Hip; Humans; Internal Medicine; Intra-Abdominal Fat; Intra-Abdominal Fat - metabolism; Lactobacillus; Lactobacillus gasseri; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Metabolic disorders; metabolism; Middle Aged; Molecular weight; nutritional intervention; Obesity; Obesity - drug therapy; Obesity - metabolism; Obesity, Abdominal; Obesity, Abdominal - drug therapy; Obesity, Abdominal - metabolism; original-article; Prevention; Probiotics; Probiotics - therapeutic use; Public Health; randomized clinical trials; Subcutaneous Fat, Abdominal; Subcutaneous Fat, Abdominal - metabolism; therapeutic use; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Waist Circumference; Weight control; body weight and measures; computed tomography; adiponectin; abdominal fat; cultured milk products; probiotics; Adipose tissue; Body weight; Fat mass; Visceral obesity; Adiponectin; Randomization; Regulation(control); Adiposity; Bacteria; Lactobacillaceae; Adult; Clinical trial; Lactobacillus gasseri; Cultured milk; Human; Probiotic; Radiodiagnosis; Metabolic diseases; Corporal biometry; Abdomen; Medical imagery; Computerized axial tomography
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.19

Background/Objectives: In spite of the much evidence for the beneficial effects of probiotics, their anti-obesity effects have not been well examined. We evaluated the effects of the probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (LG2055) on abdominal adiposity, body weight and other body measures in adults with obese tendencies. Subjects/Methods: We conducted a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled intervention trial. Subjects (n=87) with higher body mass index (BMI) (24.2–30.7 kg/m2) and abdominal visceral fat area (81.2–178.5 cm2) were randomly assigned to receive either fermented milk (FM) containing LG2055 (active FM; n=43) or FM without LG2055 (control FM; n=44), and were asked to consume 200 g/day of FM for 12 weeks. Abdominal fat area was determined by computed tomography. Results: In the active FM group, abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat areas significantly (P<0.01) decreased from baseline by an average of 4.6% (mean (confidence interval): −5.8 (−10.0, −1.7) cm2) and 3.3% (−7.4 (−11.6, −3.1) cm2), respectively. Body weight and other measures also decreased significantly (P<0.001) as follows: body weight, 1.4% (−1.1 (−1.5, −0.7) kg); BMI, 1.5% (−0.4 (−0.5, −0.2) kg/m2); waist, 1.8% (−1.7 (−2.1, −1.4) cm); hip, 1.5% (−1.5 (−1.8, −1.1) cm). In the control group, by contrast, none of these parameters decreased significantly. High-molecular weight adiponectin in serum increased significantly (P<0.01) in the active and control groups by 12.7% (0.17 (0.07, 0.26) μg/ml) and 13.6% (0.23 (0.07, 0.38) μg/ml), respectively. Conclusion: The probiotic LG2055 showed lowering effects on abdominal adiposity, body weight and other measures, suggesting its beneficial influence on metabolic disorders.