J Nutr Health.  2023 Aug;56(4):349-360. 10.4163/jnh.2023.56.4.349.

A ketogenic diet reduces body weight gain and alters insulin sensitivity and gut microbiota in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity

• Heo S
• Yang SJ

• KMID: 2545865
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/jnh.2023.56.4.349

Abstract

Purpose
Ketogenic diets (KDs) have anti-obesity effects that may be related to glucose control and the gut microbiota. This paper hypothesizes that KD reduces body weight and changes the insulin sensitivity and gut microbiota composition in a mouse model of dietinduced obesity.
Methods
In this study, C57BL/6 male mice were assigned randomly to 3 groups. The assigned diets were provided to the control and high-fat (HF) diet groups for 14 weeks. The KD group was given a HF diet for 8 weeks to induce obesity, followed by feeding the KD for the next 6 weeks.
Results
After the treatment period, the KD group exhibited a 35.82% decrease in body weight gain compared to the HF group. In addition, the KD group demonstrated enhanced glucose control, as shown by the lower levels of serum fasting glucose, serum fasting insulin, and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, compared to the HF group. An analysis of the gut microbiota using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing revealed a significant decrease in the proportion of Firmicutes when the KD was administered. In addition, feeding the KD reduced the overall alpha-diversity measures and caused a notable separation of microbial composition compared to the HF diet group. The KD also led to a decrease in the relative abundance of specific species, such as Acetatifactor_muris, Ligilactobacillus_apodemi, and Muribaculum_intestinale, compared with the HF group. These species were positively correlated with the body weight, whereas the abundant species in the KD group (Kineothrix_alysoides and Saccharofermentans_acetigenes) showed a negative correlation with body weight.
Conclusion
The current study presents supporting evidence that KD reduced the body weight and altered the insulin sensitivity and gut microbiota composition in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity.

Keyword

body weight; gut microbiota; insulin sensitivity; ketogenic diet; obesity