Probiotics during pregnancy reduce belly fat

Probiotics are considered to be good or friendly bacteria that help in improving digestion by controlling the development of harmful bacteria in the digestive tract.

The research was released at the 17th European Congress on Obesity in Amsterdam, Netherlands on May 7.

According to Dr. Kirsi Laitinen, a nutritionist at the University of Turku, Finland, “This is the first study showing that probiotics-supplemented diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding influences the adiposity of women over the 12-month postpartum period.”

Details of the study on 256 pregnant women
The findings of the research are based on 256 pregnant women, all of whom were in their first trimester and were followed for weight gain during and after pregnancy. For the study, these pregnant women were randomly divided into three groups.

Two of the groups were given dietary counseling on what should they eat for a healthy weight gain and optimal development of the fetus. They were also given fiber-rich foods, including cereals, pasta and foods rich in polyunsaturated and monosaturated fatty acids.

In addition to this, women in one of these two groups were given their daily dose of probiotics containing bifidobacterium and lactobacillus. Those in the second group were given dummy capsules.

The last group was not given any dietary counseling but only dummy capsules.

All of 256 pregnant women were weighed at the beginning of the study and a year after the childbirth. Apart from the weight, their waist circumference and skin fold thickness was also measured during the study.

Findings of the study
It was found that 25 percent of women who received dietary counseling and also took probiotics were defined as centrally obese. They were found to be having a body mass index of 30 or more and a waist circumference of 80 centimeters or more.

Meanwhile, about 43 percent of the women from the group that did not take probiotics had central obesity.

“We found [adiposity] in 25 per cent of the women who had received the probiotics along with dietary counselling, compared with 43 per cent of the women who received diet advice alone,” stated Laitinen.

In the third group, which neither received dietary advice nor took any probiotics, 40 percent of the women had central obesity.

The average body fat percentage was 28 percent in the probiotics group, 29 percent in the diet-counseling group, and 30 percent in the last group.

“The women who got the probiotics fared best. One year after childbirth, they had the lowest levels of central obesity as well as the lowest body fat percentage,” stated nutritionist Laitinen.

More research is needed to know the role of probiotics in overcoming obesity, stressed Laitinen.

“The advantage of studying pregnant women to investigate the potential link between probiotics and obesity is that it allows us to see the effects not only in the women, but also in their children,” Laitinen said.

“Particularly during pregnancy, the impacts of obesity can be immense, with the effects seen both in the mother and the child.

"Bacteria are passed from mother to child through the birth canal, as well as through breast milk, and research indicates that early nutrition may influence the risk of obesity later in life. There is growing evidence that this approach might open a new angle on the fight against obesity, either through prevention or treatment,” she reiterated.