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Probiotics – little evidence for a link to obesity

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 7, page 901 (2009)Cite this article

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In a recent Editorial by Raoult (Probiotics and obesity: a link? Nature Rev. Microbiol. 7, 616 (2009)), it was suggested that there is a connection between probiotics and obesity. The following chain of reasoning was put forward to support the suggestion. Firstly, a recent study has indicated that Firmicutes are more numerous in obese individuals than in lean individuals2. Secondly, “The probiotics used ... in the farming industry include products containing Firmicutes, in particular Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp. and Enterococcus spp.” (Ref. 1.) Thirdly, a particular Firmicute species, Lactobacillus acidophilus, “is found in functional foods in amounts that are equivalent to those used to cause weight gain in piglets.” (Ref. 1.) Fourthly, another Lactobacillus species has “been associated with weight gain in children treated for diarrhoea3” (Ref. 1), and “some studies have demonstrated weight increases in children who received Lactobacillus rhamnosus ...4” (Ref. 1), yet another Firmicute. However, the logic underlying this chain of reasoning does not completely hold, and the reasoning over-interprets published work and omits studies that support different conclusions.

Logic does not hold

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  1. S. Dusko Ehrlich is the MetaHIT coordinator at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité de Génétique Microbienne, 78350 Jouy en Josas, France. dusko.ehrlich@jouy.inra.fr,

    S. Dusko Ehrlich

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  1. S. Dusko Ehrlich
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Ehrlich, S. Probiotics – little evidence for a link to obesity. Nat Rev Microbiol 7, 901 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2209-c1

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