Effect of Dairy Protein Yogourt vs Plant-based Yogourt on Body Weight, Body Composition, Bone Health and Gut Microbiota

Official title

A New Focus on Protein and the Gut Microbiota to Explain Health Benefits of Dairy Foods

Overview

The consumption of an adequate quantity of protein in the diet is essential to maintain a healthy body composition and functioning. It is also well established that all proteins are not equal regarding their ability to promote health benefits. Recently, we have innovated in that matter by showing that under the context of high intake of dietary fat, the dairy protein casein was more effective than a mix of proteins representative of a western diet to prevent body weight gain and insulin resistance. This was explained in part by modifications of the gut microbiota. This finding represents the main conceptual basis of the present research program that is aimed to determine the impact of dairy protein from yogurt compared to a plant-based equivalent on body composition indicators including muscle mass and bone mineral density, in relation to the profile of the gut microbiota, the production of newly discovered protein-derived metabolites, and markers of metabolic health. This program will include a human and an animal component requiring the testing of these variables before and after a standardized intervention. The human component will be a clinical study consisting of a 12-week diet-based weight loss intervention in postmenopausal overweight women being randomly assigned to one of the three following groups: yogurt, plant-based yogurt, or kept on diet without supplements. The animal experimentation will permit to causally determine the implication of the gut microbiota in the protein effects following transfer of the human bacteria to germ free mice and validate the benefits seen in humans. It is anticipated that these two complementary investigative approaches will allow a thorough documentation of the impact of fermented dairy protein on body composition and functioning, a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms, and the identification of new biomarkers to better appreciate related health benefits.

Interventions

• Dietary supplement Dairy yogurt
  Dairy yogurt: two serving daily
• Dietary supplement Plant based yogurt
  Plant based yogurt: two servings daily
• Dietary supplement No yogurt
  No yogurt: zero serving yogurt

Primary outcome measures

• Change in bone health [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in bone health [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intrevention (12 weeks)]
• Change in gut microbiota [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in gut microbiota function [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]

Secondary outcome measures (12)

• Change in body weight [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in anthropometric measures [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in anthropometric measure [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in body composition [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in skeletal muscle health [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in skeletal muscle health [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in skeletal muscle health [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in Appetite and Satiety [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in Appetite and Satiety [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in Eating behaviors [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]
• Change in glycemia [Time frame: At baseline and at the end of the intervention (12 weeks)]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Postmenopausal women (absence of menstruation for at least 1 year and FSH > 40 IU/L)
• BMI between 27.0 and 39.9 kg/m²
• Sedentary or moderately active

Exclusion criteria

• Body weight change greater than 5 kg in the 3 months preceding the study
• Currently dieting or following specific dietary patterns
• Previous or planned bariatric surgery
• Food allergies or intolerances (particularly dairy proteins and lactose)
• Serious or problematic health conditions (e.g., renal insufficiency, diabetes, Cushing's disease, Paget's disease, parathyroid disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, uncontrolled thyroid disease, etc.)
• Fracture within the past year
• Hormone therapy
• Medications affecting bone metabolism (e.g., osteoporosis treatments, anti-estrogen therapy for breast cancer, epilepsy treatments)
• Antibiotic use within the 6 months preceding the study
• Use of probiotic supplements (capsules)
• More than two alcoholic drinks per day
• Smoking
• Drug abuse

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Prevention

Study locations

Canada · 1 center

• INAF, Université Laval — Québec

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07578103 · PROYO 2022-108

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗