SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1633434
This article is part of the Research TopicBifidobacteria: Exploring the Roles of These Microbiome Guardians and Their Effects on Human HealthView all 16 articles
Effects of Bifidobacterium on Metabolic Parameters in overweight or obesity adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
Junmei Huang*
Hao Cheng- Department of Clinical Nutrition, Sanya Central Hospital (The Third People's Hospital of Hainan Province), Sanya, China
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Objective This study endeavors to elucidate how Bifidobacteria supplementation affects metabolic parameters among overweight or obese populations. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out leveraging PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Merely randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Results 21 RCTs were encompassed for our final analysis. Bifidobacteria supplementation was effective in weight management for overweight or obese patients. The experimental group receiving Bifidobacteria exhibited a marked decrease in weight (WMD: -0.607kg; 95% CI: -0.910, -0.303, I2=11.9%) and BMI (WMD: -0.214kg/m2; 95% CI: -0.259, -0.169, I2=4.1%) in contrast to the control, although the significant effect was not noted on WC. Moreover, while Bifidobacteria supplementation led to no marked drop in FBG or HbA1c, it improved the insulin (SMD: -0.268; 95% CI: -0.470, -0.066, I2=5.4%). However, there were no evident variations in TC, TG, HDL-C, or LDL-C across groups. Conclusions Our study findings confirmed that Bifidobacteria contributes to a slight reduction in weight and BMI among the overweight or obese populations, making it a potential adjunctive approach for weight management. Furthermore, it may help regulate insulin levels, though its impact on hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia remains limited.
Keywords: bifidobacteria, Overweight or obesity, weight, Blood Glucose, BloodLipids
Received: 22 May 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Junmei Huang, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Sanya Central Hospital (The Third People's Hospital of Hainan Province), Sanya, China
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