TURKU, Finland—Pregnant women who supplement with probiotics help keep their children from being obese, said a new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition (2010 Feb 4:1-8). Researchers concluded probiotic-supplemented prenatal dietary counseling could be a safe and cost-effective tool in addressing the metabolic epidemic, and the results are of significance for public health in demonstrating this risk is modifiable.
In the study, 256 women were randomized at their first trimester of pregnancy into a control and a dietary intervention group. The intervention group received intensive dietary counseling provided by a nutritionist and were further randomized, double-blind to receive probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12; diet/probiotics) or placebo (diet/placebo).
After 24 months, probiotic intervention reduced the frequency of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Women with GDM exhibit high blood glucose levels during pregnancy, and babies born to mothers with GDM are at increased risk of being large for gestational age, which the researchers said is a risk marker for later obesity. Thirteen percent of diet/probiotics group experienced GDM, compared to the 36 percent in the diet/placebo and 34 percent in the control (P = 0.003). Additionally, dietary intervention diminished the risk of larger birth size in affected cases for birth weight (P = 0.035) and for birth length (P = 0.028).
The safety of this approach was attested by normal duration of pregnancies with no adverse events in mothers or children. No significant differences in prenatal or postnatal growth rates among the study groups were detected.