This Journal Watch discusses the study “ Therapeutic Effects of Butyrate on Pediatric Obesity, ” published in JAMA Network Open, 2022 . 1 What was the need of the study? Butyrate is reported to promote health by modulating energy homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, lipid metabolism, and inflammation. A low dietary intake of substances required for butyrate production and a deficiency of butyrate-producing bacteria in the gut have been suggested to contribute to obesity. 2 The Butyrate Against Pediatric Obesity (BAPO) trial has investigated for the first time, the therapeutic effects of oral butyrate supplementation in obese children's BMI and other variables involved in the pathogenesis of obesity.
How was the study conducted? Table 1 . Study details What are the key findings? Intention-to-treat analysis: Children in the butyrate group showed a greater rate of BMI decrease ≥ 0.25 in BMI…
