Investigation of the relationship between individuals' probiotic and prebiotic food consumption frequency and body mass index

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between the consumption frequency of foods known to have probiotic and prebiotic effects and body mass indexes. We enrolled 225 women and 77 men, a total of 302 participants aged between 18-65 years. Patients with diagnosed cancer, Type 2 Diabetes and complications with one or more of the gastrointestinal system diseases, individuals who were vegan or vegetarian in the last 1 year, those who followed an elimination diet, pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, lactose and/or gluten intolerant were excluded from the study. A questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics and health information was applied to the participants. Anthropometric measurements were taken by measuring height and weight, and BMIs were calculated. To determine the probiotic and prebiotic food consumption frequencies of individuals, we adapted the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) prepared by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANNES) to the study and applied a questionnaire consisting of 34 items to the participants using one-on-one interview technique. The survey consisted of a 5-Point Likert scale with options "I do not consume," "2-3 times a month or less," "3-4 times a week," "once every day" and "2-3 times every day" for every food. We found that according to the BMIs of participants, 26 (8.6%) were underweight, 174 (57.6%) were normal, 80 (26.5%) overweight and 22 (7.3%) were obese. Accordingly, when we examined the relationship between the consumption frequency of probiotic and prebiotic foods and BMI values of the participants; we found a statistically significant difference (p <0.05) between the BMI values and the consumption rates of cereal (p=0.015,) pickled cabbage or pickled cucumber (p=0.045) and red wine (p=0.015.) When we examined the relationship between the consumption frequency of probiotic and prebiotic foods and the BMI values according to the participants gender, we found that women consumed more raw green leafy vegetables (p=0.002), pickled cabbage and/or pickled cucumbers (p=0.034), and kefir (p=0.013) and we found statistically significant difference (p <0.05). We found men consumed more white meat varieties (p=0.025), fermented sausage (o=0.025), dried meat and meat products (p=0.001) and beer (p=0.001) than women and we found statistically significant difference (p>0.05). We found no significant correlation between consumption frequency of other foods and BMI. More studies on humans are needed to investigate the effects of probiotic and prebiotic foods on weight control. Increasing functional food varieties and making food with probiotic and prebiotic effects more accessible can be used effectively in the nutrition treatment of obesity and obesity related diseases. Keywords: Body Mass Index, Probiotic, Prebiotic, Food Consumption Frequency