Meconium to Predict Obesity Risk

Diverse and healthy bacteria found in the meconium, the first stool that infant passes, may predict an infant's likelihood of developing obesity. This association between the gut microbiome and being obese appears to start early during pregnancy.

The bacterial composition of meconium, the earliest stool of an infant, predicts the risk of obesity. The bacterial makeup in overweight children differs from those with normal weight. Meconium is composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus and is a predictor of obesity risk, according to a new study published in Pediatric Obesity.

In the study of 212 newborns, children who became overweight at three years of age differed in their meconium bacterial makeup from those with normal weight, having a higher proportion of bacteria in the Bacteroidetes phylum (29% versus 15%).

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The concept of fetal microbiome is controversial, and the colonization process after birth is better understood than the possible fetal colonization; however, there are many prenatal factors affecting the microbial composition of the baby’s first stool, such as the mother’s use of antibiotics during pregnancy and biodiversity of the home environment during pregnancy.

The corresponding author Katja Korpela, MD, of the University of Oulu, in Finland said, "It is very interesting that the microbiome formed before birth is possibly linked to a child’s subsequent weight status."

Source-Eurekalert

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TOP INSIGHT

The use of antibiotics during pregnancy, maternal BMI before pregnancy, weight gain during pregnancy, and the maternal microbiome are associated with the composition of the gut microbiome in early infancy. This is also a predictor of childhood obesity.
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