USE AND IMPORTANCE OF PROBIOTICS IN THE FACE OF OBESITY: LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic disease that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Among the main factors, the intestinal microbiota is one that plays a fundamental role in the health of those affected and may also be related to body weight control. Thus, probiotics emerge as a promising alternative to restore and maintain intestinal health, thus contributing to the reduction of the Body Mass Index (BMI) in obese individuals. This review discusses the relationship between obesity and the use of probiotics by these affected individuals, considering that probiotics can mitigate possible health problems caused by obesity and provide benefits, being allies in the condition of these patients. Thus, this review study aimed to search for articles in the literature that address probiotics and their importance in the face of the problem of obesity and their possible benefits. To this end, searches were conducted in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and PubMed databases, including articles in English and Portuguese published in the last 5 years that answered the guiding question, “What is the relationship between the use of probiotics and obesity in the world?” and excluded paid, incomplete or unrelated works with the guiding question. At the end of the process, 30 articles were analyzed, which were read in full and comprise the result of the work. The synthesis of these works demonstrates that probiotics can benefit overweight patients, this benefit is directly linked to the related species, the form of ingestion and the group of patients evaluated, requiring further studies that direct personalized forms for each type of individual.