Evaluation of food consumption and quality of life in overweight and obese patients and correlation with inflammatory and gut permeability markers

• Grant number: 23/11597-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Gislane Lelis Vilela de Oliveira
• Grantee: Luiza Dias Machado
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), overweight and obesity are defined as "abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that represents a risk to health". Despite public health policies and efforts to combat the obesity epidemic, the WHO estimates that, by 2025, approximately 167 million people will become ill because they are overweight or obese. In Brazil, 60.3% of adults are overweight, with women being the most affected. In 2022, according to the Ministry of Health, obesity affected about 6.7 million individuals. Obesity is considered a chronic inflammatory disease, as excessive calorie intake and increased fat accumulation lead to low-grade systemic inflammation due to the inflammatory cytokines secretion. In recent years, studies have shown important connections between the gut microbiota, the immune system and metabolism regulation. Furthermore, metagenomic analyzes demonstrated that gut dysbiosis is associated with the obesity development in different cohorts. Alterations in gut permeability have also been identified as potential amplifiers of inflammation in obesity due to bacterial translocation, systemic inflammation and metabolic endotoxemia. The gut microbiota is involved in the production, storage and expenditure of energy from food and its metabolites can be considered obesogenic or anti-obesogenic. Therefore, the gut microbiota modulation through personalized nutritional interventions is becoming a new anti-obesity therapy. The aim of this study will be to evaluate the food consumption and quality of life in overweight (n = 30) and obese (n = 30) patients and correlate it with inflammatory and intestinal permeability markers. The 24-hour dietary recall will be applied to patients and the data will be transferred to the NDSR Software, which will allow an estimate of nutrient consumption. Peripheral blood samples will be collected to measure serum concentrations of TNF, IL-1, IL-6, and zonulin. Statistical analysis will be carried out in collaboration with the Biostatistics department. We expected to find significant differences in dietary habits and quality of life between overweight, obese and eutrophic subjects and important correlations associated to inflammatory and gut permeability markers that can guide the formulation and specific nutritional protocols for the overweight and obesity management.