Greater alteration of gut microbiota occurs in childhood obesity than adulthood obesity

Abstract

The children’s gut microbiota, associated with the development of obesity, is in maturation. The impact of obesity on the gut microbiota in childhood could have a more significant effect than on adulthood and eventually be lifelong lasting, but it has been rarely studied. Aimed to discover the difference in gut microbiota between obese children and adults, we collected and re-analyzed published data from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). We found that the gut microbiota had a significant difference between children with and without obesity, but this did not happen in adults. Based on the random forest model, childhood obesity is more challenging to predict using gut microbiota than adulthood obesity. Our results suggest that gut microbiota in childhood is more easily affected than in adulthood. Hence, early intervention for childhood obesity is essential to improve children’s health and lifelong gut microbiota-related health.