Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
Guided Protocol for Fecal Microbial Characterization by 16S rRNA-Amplicon Sequencing
Published on: March 19, 2018
Microbiome of the first stool and overweight at age 3 years: A prospective cohort study
Katja Korpela1, Marjo Renko1,2, Petri Vänni1,3
1PEDEGO Research Unit, Medical Research Center, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Insights
The meconium microbiome at birth can predict a child's future risk of becoming overweight. Specific bacterial proportions in infant gut microbiota are linked to growth outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome research
- Pediatric health
- Growth prediction
Background:
- The first-pass meconium contains a diverse microbiome, but its clinical importance remains unclear.
- Understanding the early life microbiome is crucial for predicting long-term health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the meconium microbiome composition at birth can predict subsequent child growth.
- To establish a link between the infant gut microbiome and the development of overweight.
Main Methods:
- A prospective, population-based cohort study involving 212 newborns.
- Collection of meconium samples at birth and growth measurements up to 3 years.
- Analysis using next-generation sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and machine learning.
Main Results:
- The meconium microbiome differed between children who became overweight and those who did not by age 3.
- Machine learning models predicted subsequent overweight with an area under the curve of 0.70.
- Lower Staphylococcus abundance at birth correlated with greater length/height at 1 and 2 years.
Conclusions:
- The meconium microbiome is a significant predictor of subsequent overweight development in children.
- The gut microbiome's influence on overweight begins as early as pregnancy and birth.
Background:
Several reports have revealed that the first-pass meconium hosts a diverse microbiome, but its clinical significance is not known.
Objective:
We designed a prospective population-based cohort study to evaluate whether the meconium microbiome predicts subsequent growth in children.
Methods:
The study comprised 212 consecutive newborns with a meconium sample and a follow-up sample at 1 year of age. Trained nurses measured the children for weight and length using standardized techniques. We used next-generation sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene and machine-learning approach for the analysis.
Results:
The children with overweight at 3 years of age differed in their meconium microbiome from those with normal weight, having a higher proportion of Bacteroidetes phylum (29% vs 15%, P = .013). Using the machine-learning approach, the gut microbiome at birth predicted subsequent overweight with area under the curve 0.70 (SD 0.04). A lower proportion of Staphylococcus at birth was associated with greater length/height at 1 year (ß = -.68, P = .029) and 2 years of age (β = -.74, P = .030).
Conclusions:
The microbiome of the first-pass meconium predicted subsequent overweight at the age of 3 years. The association between the gut microbiome and overweight appears to start already during pregnancy and at birth.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:23Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the...
01:29Bacterial Flora of the Large Intestine
The normal gut flora of the colon plays a critical role in generating essential vitamins such as vitamins K, B5, and B7.