The effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Introduction: Childhood obesity often results in insulin resistance (IR) and may cause type 2 diabetes. Fibers are described as a dietary intervention controlling hyperglycemia; however, their effect on obese children is understudied. Aim: To assess the effect of fiber supplementation on IR in obes...

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Main Authors: Shrouk Moataz Abdallah, Hannah Mohamed Aboulghar, Hend Mehawed Abdel Latif Soliman, Radwa Marawan Abdel Halim, Marwa Ahmed Sedkey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hygeia Press di Corridori Marinella 2025-08-01
Series:Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine
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Online Access:https://jpnim.com/index.php/jpnim/article/view/1750
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author Shrouk Moataz Abdallah
Hannah Mohamed Aboulghar
Hend Mehawed Abdel Latif Soliman
Radwa Marawan Abdel Halim
Marwa Ahmed Sedkey
author_facet Shrouk Moataz Abdallah
Hannah Mohamed Aboulghar
Hend Mehawed Abdel Latif Soliman
Radwa Marawan Abdel Halim
Marwa Ahmed Sedkey
author_sort Shrouk Moataz Abdallah
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Childhood obesity often results in insulin resistance (IR) and may cause type 2 diabetes. Fibers are described as a dietary intervention controlling hyperglycemia; however, their effect on obese children is understudied. Aim: To assess the effect of fiber supplementation on IR in obese children. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was carried out at Cairo University Children’s Hospital (Cairo, Egypt), including 123 obese children aged 6-13 years. Two-step double blind randomization using sealed envelopes was done. Step 1: randomization into an intervention group (82 subjects) and control group (41 subjects). Step 2: randomization of the intervention group for either receiving 10 g/day of powdered psyllium or a high fiber diet. Fasting insulin, glucose, C-peptide and homeostatic model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks for all participants. Results: Fasting glucose, insulin, C-peptide and HOMA-IR were significantly reduced with psyllium (p < 0.001 for all) and natural fibers (p = 0.001, < 0.001, < 0.001 and < 0.001 respectively), while they were increased in the control group (p = 0.09, 0.006, 0.015 and < 0.001 respectively). The median percent of change from baseline for HOMA-IR was -26.47% and -42.55% compared to +9.38% for the natural fiber group, psyllium group and controls respectively. Psyllium induced better HOMA-IR profiles as compared to the other 2 groups (p < 0.001). Both interventions similarly reduced BMI and waist for height z-scores compared to the control group. We report no serious side effects of psyllium; however, unpalatability was a frequent complaint (40.5%). Conclusion: Both psyllium and natural fibers improved IR in obese children but this improvement was more pronounced in the psyllium group.
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spelling doaj-art-5f7fbae4b3684d87b34f8db8f0977ddf2025-08-23T14:56:13ZengHygeia Press di Corridori MarinellaJournal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine2281-06922025-08-01142e140203e14020310.7363/1402031769The effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trialShrouk Moataz Abdallah0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2015-757XHannah Mohamed Aboulghar1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6527-3638Hend Mehawed Abdel Latif Soliman2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0225-172XRadwa Marawan Abdel Halim3Marwa Ahmed Sedkey4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7762-5939Department of Pediatrics, Cairo University, Cairo, EgyptDepartment of Pediatrics, Cairo University, Cairo, EgyptDepartment of Pediatrics, Cairo University, Cairo, EgyptDepartment of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Cairo University, Cairo, EgyptDepartment of Pediatrics, Cairo University, Cairo, EgyptIntroduction: Childhood obesity often results in insulin resistance (IR) and may cause type 2 diabetes. Fibers are described as a dietary intervention controlling hyperglycemia; however, their effect on obese children is understudied. Aim: To assess the effect of fiber supplementation on IR in obese children. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was carried out at Cairo University Children’s Hospital (Cairo, Egypt), including 123 obese children aged 6-13 years. Two-step double blind randomization using sealed envelopes was done. Step 1: randomization into an intervention group (82 subjects) and control group (41 subjects). Step 2: randomization of the intervention group for either receiving 10 g/day of powdered psyllium or a high fiber diet. Fasting insulin, glucose, C-peptide and homeostatic model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks for all participants. Results: Fasting glucose, insulin, C-peptide and HOMA-IR were significantly reduced with psyllium (p < 0.001 for all) and natural fibers (p = 0.001, < 0.001, < 0.001 and < 0.001 respectively), while they were increased in the control group (p = 0.09, 0.006, 0.015 and < 0.001 respectively). The median percent of change from baseline for HOMA-IR was -26.47% and -42.55% compared to +9.38% for the natural fiber group, psyllium group and controls respectively. Psyllium induced better HOMA-IR profiles as compared to the other 2 groups (p < 0.001). Both interventions similarly reduced BMI and waist for height z-scores compared to the control group. We report no serious side effects of psyllium; however, unpalatability was a frequent complaint (40.5%). Conclusion: Both psyllium and natural fibers improved IR in obese children but this improvement was more pronounced in the psyllium group.https://jpnim.com/index.php/jpnim/article/view/1750fiberhoma-irinsulin resistanceobesitypsyllium
spellingShingle Shrouk Moataz Abdallah
Hannah Mohamed Aboulghar
Hend Mehawed Abdel Latif Soliman
Radwa Marawan Abdel Halim
Marwa Ahmed Sedkey
The effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial
Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine
fiber
homa-ir
insulin resistance
obesity
psyllium
title The effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial
title_full The effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial
title_fullStr The effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial
title_full_unstemmed The effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial
title_short The effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial
title_sort effect of fiber supplementation on insulin resistance in children with obesity a randomized controlled clinical trial
topic fiber
homa-ir
insulin resistance
obesity
psyllium
url https://jpnim.com/index.php/jpnim/article/view/1750
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