Comparison of Metabolic Response to Colonic Fermentation in Lean Youth vs Youth With Obesity

IMPORTANCE: Pediatric obesity is a growing health care burden. Understanding how the metabolic phenotype of youth with obesity may modify the effect of intestinal fermentation on human metabolism is key to designing early intervention. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether adiposity and insulin resistance in youth may be associated with colonic fermentation of dietary fibers and its production of acetate, gut-derived hormone secretion, and adipose tissue lipolysis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study of youths aged 15 to 22 years with body mass index in the 25th to 75th percentile or higher than the 85th percentile for age and sex throughout the New Haven County community in Connecticut. Recruitment, studies, and data collection occurred from June 2018 to September 2021. Youths were assigned to a lean, obese insulin sensitive (OIS), or obese insulin resistant (OIR) group. Data were analyzed from April 2022 to September 2022. EXPOSURE: Participants consumed 20 g of lactulose during a continuous 10-hour sodium d3-acetate intravenous infusion to measure the rate of appearance of acetate in plasma. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Plasma was obtained hourly to measure acetate turnover, peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY), ghrelin, active glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), and free fatty acids (FFA). RESULTS: A total of 44 youths participated in the study (median [IQR] age, 17.5 [16.0-19.3] years; 25 [56.8%] were female; 23 [52.3%] were White). Consequent to lactulose ingestion, there was a reduction of plasma FFA, an improvement of adipose tissue insulin sensitivity index, an increase in colonic acetate synthesis, and an anorexigenic response characterized by an increased plasma concentration of PYY and active GLP-1 and a reduction of ghrelin in the subgroups. Compared with the lean and OIS groups, the OIR group showed a less marked median (IQR) rate of acetate appearance (OIR: 2.00 [−0.86 to 2.69] μmol × kg(−1) × min(−1); lean: 5.69 [3.04 to 9.77] μmol × kg(−1) × min(−1); lean vs OIR P = .004; OIS: 2.63 [1.22 to 4.52] μmol × kg(−1) × min(−1); OIS vs OIR P = .09), a blunted median (IQR) improvement of adipose insulin sensitivity index (OIR: 0.043 [ 0.006 to 0.155]; lean: 0.277 [0.220 to 0.446]; lean vs OIR P = .002; OIS: 0.340 [0.048 to 0.491]; OIS vs OIR P = .08), and a reduced median (IQR) PYY response (OIR: 25.4 [14.8 to 36.4] pg/mL; lean: 51.3 [31.6 to 83.3] pg/mL; lean vs OIR P = .002; OIS: 54.3 [39.3 to 77.2] pg/mL; OIS vs OIR P = .011). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study, lean, OIS, and OIR youth demonstrated different associations between colonic fermentation of indigestible dietary carbohydrates and the metabolic response, with OIR youth showing minimal metabolic modifications as compared with the other 2 groups. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03454828