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Background: The gut microbiota is altered in obesity and is strongly influenced by nutrients and xenobiotics. We have tested the impact of native inulin as prebiotic present in vegetables and added as a supplement on gut microbiota-related outcomes in obese patients. Metformin treatment was analyzed as a potential modulator of the response. Methods: A randomized, single-blinded, multicentric, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 150 obese patients who received 16 g/d native inulin versus maltodextrin, coupled to dietary advice to consume inulin-rich versus -poor vegetables for 3 months, respectively, in addition to dietary caloric restriction. Anthropometry, diagnostic imaging (abdominal CT-scan, fibroscan), food-behavior questionnaires, serum biology and fecal microbiome (primary outcome; 16S rDNA sequencing) were analyzed before and after the intervention. Results: Both placebo and prebiotic interventions lowered energy intake, BMI, systolic blood pressure, and serum γ-GT. The prebiotic induced greater weight loss and additionally decreased diastolic blood pressure, AST and insulinemia. Metformin treatment compromised most of the gut microbiota changes and metabolic improvements linked to prebiotic intervention. The prebiotic modulated specific bacteria, associated with the improvement of anthropometry (i.e. a decrease in Desulfovibrio and Clostridium sensu stricto). A large increase in Bifidobacterium appears as a signature of inulin intake rather than a driver of prebiotic-linked biological outcomes. Conclusions: Inulin-enriched diet is able to promote weight loss in obese patients, the treatment efficiency being related to gut microbiota characteristics. This treatment is more efficacious in patients who did not receive metformin as anti-diabetic drugs prior the intervention, supporting that both drug treatment and microbiota might be taken into account in personalized nutrition interventions. Registered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier no NCT03852069., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background and aims Metabolic and behavioural diseases, which are often related to obesity, have been associated to alterations of the gut microbiota considered as an interesting therapeutic target. We have analyzed in a cohort of obese patients treated with prebiotic inulin versus placebo the potential link between gut microbiota changes occurring upon intervention and their effect on psychological parameters (mood and cognition). Methods A randomized, single-blinded, multicentric, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 106 obese patients assigned to two groups: prebiotic versus placebo, who received respectively 16 g/d of native inulin or maltodextrin combined with dietary advice to consume inulin-rich or -poor vegetables for 3 months as well as to restrict caloric intake. Anthropometric measurements, food intake, psychological questionnaires, serum measures, and fecal microbiome sequencing were performed before and after the intervention. Results Inulin supplementation in obese subjects had moderate beneficial effect on emotional competence and cognitive flexibility. However, an exploratory analysis revealed that some patients exhibiting specific microbial signature -elevated Coprococcus levels at baseline- were more prone to benefit from prebiotic supplementation in terms of mood. Positive responders toward inulin intervention in term of mood also displayed worse metabolic and inflammatory profiles at baseline (increased levels of IL-8, insulin resistance and adiposity). Conclusion This study shows that inulin intake can be helpful to improve mood in obese subjects exhibiting a specific microbial profile. The present work highlights some microbial, metabolic and inflammatory features (IL-8, insulin resistance) which can predict or mediate the beneficial effects of inulin on behaviour in obesity. Food4gut, clinicaltrial.gov: NCT03852069, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03852069 .

Many people would like to reduce indulging in unhealthy foods, but find it difficult to do so. Previous research shows that individuals eat smaller portions of unhealthy hedonic food if they first imagine the sensory properties of tempting food (sensory imagery; Cornil & Chandon, 2016). Similarly, they show less preference for such food if they think about food in a detached way (decentering; Papies, Barsalou, & Custers, 2012; Papies, Pronk, Keesman, & Barsalou, 2015). Given that these two mindsets are seemingly at odds with each other, we compared them across two studies to examine their effects on the preference for (Experiment 1) and consumption of (Experiment 2) hedonic healthy and unhealthy food. Although sensory imagery and decentering had largely different effects for preferences towards healthy and unhealthy foods, they had comparable effects on the consumption of both types of foods, serving to reduce the effects of consumption in participants affected by hunger and emotional eating. These results suggest that while sensory imagery and decentering are based on different mechanisms, they produce similar results when it comes to the consumption of hedonic food, regardless of how healthy the food is., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Objectives:We describe the methodology of a trial designed to highlight the interest of vegetables rich in ITF-prebiotics in obese adults. DESIGN:150 obese subjects (BMI> 30 kg.m-2; 18–65 years) recruited in three different university hospitals in Belgium will be selected with at least one of the following criteria: (pre-)diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, liver steatosis. They will be randomly assigned to receive either 16 g/day of inulin (Fibruline, Cosucra) with dietary advice to promote the consumption of vegetables rich in ITF or 16 g/day placebo (maltodextrin, Cargill) with dietary advice provided nutrients to promote the consumption of vegetables poor in ITF for 3 months. Review of literature, analysis of ITF content in vegetables and satisfaction and digestive tolerance tests (on healthy volunteers) will be performed to propose adequate receipts. Results: The primary outcome is to evaluate the impact of a higher consumption of ITF-prebiotics on the gut microbiota composition. The secondary outcome of this trial was the effect of the prebiotic intervention on the BMI. Other secondary endpoints were anthropometric and clinical parameters. Conclusions:The goal of this intervention study is to establish the proof of concept that nutrients which selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the human colon might offer protection against metabolic disorders associated to obesity on an adequate target population.

The purpose of this study was to investigate objective performance on a nutrition label comprehension task, and the influence of numeracy and food-related involvement on this performance level. A pilot study (n = 45) was run to prepare the scales in French. For the main study (n = 101), participants provided demographic information and answered the nutrition label survey, the short numeracy scale and two different food-related involvement scales (i.e. the food involvement scale and the nutrition involvement scale). Both studies were conducted online, and consent was obtained from all participants. Participants answered correctly only two-thirds of the nutrition label task items. Numeracy and food involvement scores were positively correlated with performance on this task. Finally, food involvement interacted with numeracy. Specifically, people scoring low in numeracy performed generally more poorly on the task, but if they had high food involvement scores, their performance increased. This suggests that high food-related motivation may compensate for poor numeracy skills when dealing with nutrition labels.