Table 1.
Summary of anti-obesity effects of probiotics reported in randomized controlled clinical trials
| Population studied | Intervention | Control/placebo group | Duration | Clinical findings | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults (33–63 yr): obese tendencies (n = 87); intervention (n = 43); controls (n = 44) | Fermented milk containing L gasseri SBT2055 | Fermented milk (200 g/d) without probiotic | 12 wk | ↓ Abdominal visceral, subcutaneous fat areas, BW and BMI | Kadooka et al27 |
| Obese children (10–13 yr): hypertransaminasemia and ultrasonographic bright liver (n = 20); intervention (n = 10); placebo (n = 10) | L rhamnosus GG (12 billion CFU/d) | 1 capsule/d of placebo | 8 wk | ↓ Hypertransaminasemia, BMI and visceral fat | Vajro et al37 |
| Obese adults (40–60 yr): omega-3 fatty acid (n = 15); probiotic VSL#3, (n = 15); omega-3 + probiotic (n = 15); placebo (n = 15) | VSL#3 (B longum, B infantis, B breve, L acidophilus, L paracasei, L delbrueckii, L plantarum, S salivarius) | 1 capsule/d of placebo | 6 wk | ↓ TC, TG, LDL, VLDL, and hsCRP ↑ HDL, insulin sensitivity, gut microbiota diversity | Rajkumar et al31 |
| Obese adults (20–65 yr); intervention (n = 60); placebo (n = 60) | L curvatus HY7601 + L plantarum KY1032 + healthy lifestyle | 2 cap/d placebo + healthy lifestyle habits | 12 wk | ↓ BW, WC and fat | Ahn et al28 |
| Pre-obese adults (20–64 yr); intervention (n = 40); placebo (n = 40) | B breve B-3 (1010 CFU/2 cap/d) | 2 cap/d of placebo | 12 wk | ↓ Body fat mass | Minami et al34 |
| Overweight and obese adults | B animalis ssp. lactis 420 (B420) 1010 CFU with/without Litesse® Ultra polydextrose (LU) 12 g/d | 12 g of LU/d | 6 mo | ↓ Fat mass and WC↓ Blood hsCRP and zonulin level | Stenman et al29 |
| Overweight adults (20–70 yr); Intervention I (n = 21); Intervention II (n = 21); placebo (n = 20) | Intervention I: Living LP28; Intervention II Heat-killed LP28 (Pediococcus pentosaceus) | 1 capsule/d of placebo | 12 wk | ↓ BMI, WC after intervention II | Higashikawa et al33 |
| Obese and overweight women (18–50 yr): low-fat yogurt (n = 45); probiotic yogurt (n = 44) | Commercial yogurt (S thermophilus and L bulgaricus) enriched with L acidophilus LA5 and B lactis BB12 | 200 g low-fat yogurt/d | 12 wk | ↓ TC, LDL, insulin resistance | Madjd et al41 |
| Obese pregnant women: intervention (n = 25); placebo (n = 25) | Vivomixx® (S thermophilus, B breve, B longum, B infantis, L acidophilus, L plantarum, L paracasei, L delbrueckii) | 1 capsule/d of placebo | From gestation (14–20 wk) until delivery | ↓ Weight gain and pregnancy consequences | Halkjaer et al46 |
| Obese women (20–59 yr): intervention (n = 21); placebo (n = 22) | L acidophilus LA-14, L casei LC-11, L lactis LL-23, B bifidum BB-06, B lactis BL-4 + dietary intervention | 1 cap/d placebo + dietary prescription | 8 wk | ↓ WC | Gomes et al43 |
| Obese adults (18–55 yr): intervention (n = 62); placebo (n = 63) | Symbiotic formula (L rhamnosus, inulin, oligofructose) | 250 mg of maltodextrin + 3 mg magnesium stearate + healthy eating behavior | 12 wk | ↓ Weight | Sánchez et al30 |
| Obese children: intervention (n = 32); placebo (n = 33) | L rhamnosus, L acidophilus, B bifidum, B lactis | 1 capsule/d of placebo | 12 wk | ↓ AsAT, AAT, TC, LDL, TG, WC | Famouri et al38 |
| Pre-obese-obese, normal weight obese, and normal weight lean women (n = 48); intervention (n = 24); placebo (n = 24) | Psychobiotics (B bifidum, B animalis, S thermophilus, S thermophilus, L plantarum, L delbrueckii, L reuteri, L acidophilus, L lactis) | 1 capsule/d of placebo | 8 wk | ↓ BMI, Fat mass, psychopathological scores, bacterial overgrowth and BUT GSI scale↑ Free fat mass, meteorism and defecation frequency | De Lorenzo et al53 |
| Obese patients: intervention (n = 23); placebo (n = 23) | Familact® (L casei, L rhamnosus, L bulgaricus, L acidophilus, B breve, B longum, and S thermophilus) and FOS | 1 sachet/d of placebo | 4 wk before and 12 wk post-surgery | ↑ Vitamin D, inflammatory, lipid and glycemic indices | Karbaschian et al52 |
| Abdominally obese adults: Intervention I (n = 42); Intervention II (n = 44); placebo (n = 40) | B animalis subsp lactis CECT 8145 (Intervention I) or its heat-killed form (Intervention II) | 1 capsule/d of placebo | 3 mo | ↓ BMI, WC and WC/height ratio | Pedret et al32 |
| Obese children (10–15 yr): insulin resistance (n = 48); intervention (n = 23); placebo (n = 25) | B pseudocatenulatum + dietary orientations | Placebo + dietary recommendation | 13 wk | ↓ BW | Sanchis-Chordá et al39 |
| Pre-obese adults (20–64 yr): intervention (n = 40); placebo (n = 40) | B breve B-3 | 2 cap/d of placebo | 12 wk | ↓ Body fat mass | Minami et al35 |
| Obese postmenopausal women (45–70 yr): low-dose (n = 27), high-dose (n = 27) intervention; placebo (n = 27) | Low and high dose supplement (B bifidum, B lactis, B lactis, L acidophilus, L brevis, L casei, L salivarius, L lactis, and L lactis | 1 cap/d of placebo | 12 wk | Low-dose group (↓ BW, BMI and fat mass)High-dose (↑ lipid metabolism) | Szulińska et50 |
BMI = body mass index; BW = body weight; CFU = colony-forming units; GLP-1 = glucagon-like peptide-1; HDL = high density lipoprotein; hsCRP = high-sensitivity C reactive protein; LDL = low density lipoprotein; OAGB-MGB = one anastomosis gastric bypass-mini gastric bypass; OFA = omega-3 fatty acid; TC = total cholesterol; TG = triglycerides; VLDL = very low-density lipoprotein; WC = waist circumference.