The Microbiota of the Gut in Preschool Children With Normal and Excessive Body Weight

The aim of this study was to investigate the gut microbiota in preschool children with and without overweight and
obesity. Twenty overweight or obese children and twenty children with BMI within the normal range (age: 4–5 years)
were recruited from the south of Sweden. The gut microbiota was accessed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and terminal
restriction fragment length polymorphism and calprotectin was measured in feces. Liver enzymes were quantified
in obese/overweight children. The concentration of the gram-negative family Enterobacteriaceae was significantly
higher in the obese/overweight children (P = 0.036), whereas levels of Desulfovibrio and Akkermansia muciniphilalike
bacteria were significantly lower in the obese/overweight children (P = 0.027 and P = 0.030, respectively). No
significant differences were found in content of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium or the Bacteroides fragilis group.
The diversity of the dominating bacterial community tended to be less diverse in the obese/overweight group, but
the difference was not statistically significant. Concentration of Bifidobacterium was inversely correlated to alanine
aminotransferase (ALT) in obese/overweight children. The fecal levels of calprotectin did not differ between the study
groups. These findings indicate that the gut microbiota differed among preschool children with obesity/overweight
compared with children with BMI within the normal range.