Association of intestinal microbiota and its metabolite markers with excess weight in Chinese children and adolescents

Abstract

SummaryObjectiveThe objective of this study was to identify the intestinal microbiota and faecal metabolic biomarkers associated with excess weight in Chinese children and adolescents.MethodsThis cross‐sectional study included 163 children aged 6–14 years (including 72 with normal‐weight and 91 with overweight/obesity from three Chinese boarding schools). We used 16S rRNA high‐throughput sequencing to analyse the diversity and composition of intestinal microbiota. Of these participants, we selected 10 children with normal‐weight and 10 with obesity (matched 1:1 for school, sex and age) and measured faecal metabolites using ultra‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.ResultsAlpha diversity was significantly elevated in children with normal‐weight compared to overweight/obese. Principle coordinate analysis and permutational multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in intestinal microbial community structure between the normal‐weight and overweight/obese groups. The two groups differed significantly in the relative abundances of Megamonas, Bifidobacterium and Alistipes. In faecal metabolomics analysis, we identified 14 differential metabolites and 2 main differential metabolic pathways associated with obesity.ConclusionThis study identified intestinal microbiota and metabolic markers associated with excess weight in Chinese children.