Noster Microbiome Research: Potential obesity-reducing food supplement

KYOTO, Japan, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Noster Inc. and colleagues report in Progress in Medicine that the regular intake of a particular fatty acid derivate by mildly obese but otherwise healthy subjects reduces abdominal fat.  The consumption of the substance in the form of food supplements may therefore reduce the risk of obesity-related health disorders.

Lifestyle-related disorders and diseases have become a global challenge. Obesity, associated with Westernized diets, overnutrition and lack of physical exercise, has become a particular public-health issue — also because of its role in type-2 diabetes.  A recent survey has revealed that one out of four Japanese adults is obese, defined as having a body-mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m² or higher.  (A person's body-mass index is obtained by dividing body mass by body length squared.)  Clearly, there is a need for the prevention and control of obesity.  Now, Yasunori Yonejima at Noster Inc and colleagues, have studied the effect of the intake of an acidic substance known as HYA on the visceral fat area in mildly obese but otherwise healthy Japanese subjects.  Their results suggest that the consumption of HYA-containing food reduces visceral fat.

HYA is a fatty acid derived from linoleic acid, a major component of vegetable oils, through the biochemical activity of gut microorganisms.  Earlier research has shown that in model mice, the long-term administration of HYA improves obesity induced by a high-fat diet.  To test the effects of HYA intake on humans, Yonejima and coworkers performed a comparative study on 56 healthy subjects with a BMI between 23 and 30 kg/m².

During a period of 12 weeks, 28 subjects were given 'test food', 50% of which consisted of HYA.  The other 28 persons were given 'placebo food' not containing any HYA.  The food was taken in the form of capsules; participants in the study had to consume three capsules with water before meals, three times a day.

At the end of the 12-week period, the abdominal visceral fat area of every participant in the study was measured by means of computed tomography — a technique used for producing cross-sectional images of the body.  For the 'placebo group', the average abdominal visceral fat area changed from 129.1 cm² (0 weeks) to 128.4 cm² (12 weeks), while for the 'test group', the change was a much more pronounced decrease from 127.6 cm² to 117.1 cm². According to the criteria of the Japan Society for Obesity, a diagnosis of visceral fat type obesity corresponds to an abdominal visceral fat area of 100 cm² or more.

The researchers carefully checked for side effects and adverse events, and could conclude that there were no medically problematic changes associated with the intake of the HYA-containing food.

Given that the accumulation of visceral fat is strongly associated with obesity-related health issues, the findings of Yonejima and his co-researchers are highly relevant in the search for ways to control obesity.  Quoting the scientists: "the intake of HYA may reduce the risk of obesity-related health disorders."

Background

Obesity and type-2 diabetes
Obesity refers to the condition of abnormal or excess body fat having extensively accumulated in such a way that it can have a negative effect on health.  Obesity is usually defined via the body mass index (BMI, a person's weight divided by the person's height squared).  Some definitions of obesity use a BMI of 30 kg/m² as the threshold, others use a BMI of 25 kg/m² as the starting point.

Obesity is correlated with several other conditions and diseases, including type-2 diabetes.

The latter is a form of diabetes characterized by a high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and a relative lack of insulin.  The long-term complications of type-2 diabetes include heart disease, strokes, and kidney failure.  Type-2 diabetes mainly occurs as a result of obesity and insufficient physical exercise.

The combination of obesity and - diabetes is sometimes called 'diabesity'.  Factors that can lead to diabesity include genetic history, diet, lack of exercise and gut health.

Yasunori Yonejima and colleagues, have now studied the effect of the regular intake of a substance called HYA, which is known to improve high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice.  Their comparative study on 56 subjects with mild obesity (BMI between 23 and 30 kg/m²) suggests that regular intake of HYA-containing food supplements reduces abdominal fat.

Reference
Yasunori Yonejima, Koichi Yamada, and Tsuyoshi Takara. Effects of Consumption of HYA−containing Food on the Visceral Fat Area in Healthy Subjects, Prog. Med. 42, 887–893 (2022).

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