Trial reportPediatric obesity2018
Probiotic supplementation increases obesity with no detectable effects on liver fat or gut microbiota in obese Hispanic adolescents: a 16-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in Pediatric obesity, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of probiotic/synbiotic supplementation for overweight or obese children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Pediatric research · 2026Pooled it
- The role of microbiome-modulating supplements in managing metabolic syndrome risk factors among overweight and obese youth: a GRADE-assessed meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Gut microbiome-based interventions for the management of obesity in children and adolescents aged up to 19 years.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the therapeutic effect of probiotic intervention in obese or overweight adolescents.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of probiotic administration on overweight or obese children: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Probiotics' effect on visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Probiotic Strains and Intervention Total Doses for Modulating Obesity-Related Microbiota Dysbiosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Probiotic therapy outcomes in body composition of children and adolescent with obesity, a nonrandomized controlled trial.Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2022Trial
- Targeting the Gut Microbiota in Pediatric Obesity: A Paradigm Shift in Prevention and Treatment? A Comprehensive Review.Nutrients · 2025Review
- From gut microbial ecology to lipid homeostasis: Decoding the role of gut microbiota in dyslipidemia pathogenesis and intervention.World journal of gastroenterology · 2025Review
- The role of probiotics in adolescents' obesity.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Review
- Ambient air pollution exposure is associated with liver fat and stiffness in Latino youth with a more pronounced effect in those with PNPLA3 genotype and more advanced liver disease.Ecotoxicology and environmental safety · 2024Article
- Associations of dietary sugars with liver stiffness in Latino adolescents with obesity differ on PNPLA3 and liver disease severity.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2024Article
- Adolescent gut microbiome imbalance and its association with immune response in inflammatory bowel diseases and obesity.BMC microbiology · 2024Article
- Role of Probiotics in Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Mouse Model: A Comparative Study.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Adolescence and the Microbiome: Implications for Healthy Growth and Maturation.The American journal of pathology · 2023Review
- Effects of synbiotic supplementation on intestinal microbiota composition in children and adolescents with exogenous obesity: (Probesity-2 trial).Gut pathogens · 2023Article
- Metabolic control by the microbiome.Genome medicine · 2022Review
- A multi-strain probiotic blend reshaped obesity-related gut dysbiosis and improved lipid metabolism in obese children.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNumerous studies have shown that there are links between obesity, liver fat and the gut microbiome. However, there are mixed results on whether probiotics could impact the gut microbiome and/or help to decrease liver fat and obesity outcomes.
objectiveThis study aimed to determine whether a probiotic supplement (VSL#3
methodsWe conducted a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial in 19 obese Latino adolescents. The intervention consisted of three packets per day of VSL#3
resultsCompared with placebo, adolescents that received VSL#3 had significant increases in total adiposity (%) (+1.7 ± 0.6 vs. -1.3 ± 0.5, p < 0.01) and trunk adiposity (%) (+3.3 ± 0.8 vs. -1.8 ± 0.8, p < 0.01) with no significant effects on liver fat/fibrosis, insulin/glucose, gut microbial abundances or gut hormones.
conclusionVSL#3 supplementation may lead to increased adiposity in obese Latino adolescents with no significant detectable changes in gut microbiota, gut appetite-regulating hormones, liver fat and fibrosis and dietary intake. However, it is important to note that recruitment efforts were terminated early and the sample size fell short of what was planned for this trial.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.