Fibre supplementation to decrease hunger, improve chronic disease risk factors and weight loss in overweight and obese children.

Aims: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of PolyGlycopleX® (PGX®) supplementation on metabolic risk factors in overweight and obese children. Background: The number of overweight children in Australia, Canada and the US has doubled in recent years, with a third considered either overweight or obese. There is considerable evidence childhood obesity can result in orthopaedic complications, sleep apnoea and hepatic steatosis, cardiovascular disease risk factors, type 2 diabetes and psychosocial problems, including low self-esteem and depression. Childhood obesity usually progresses into adulthood, leading to earlier development of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. As a consequence, early interventions in overweight children are required urgently. High-fibre intake has been shown to reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in adults. Studies in adults have demonstrated that fibre supplementation can benefit many components of the metabolic syndrome (MS) such as glucose levels and insulin response, blood pressure, as well as lipid profile, thereby reducing chronic disease. However, the effect of fibre supplementation on MS components in children is currently unknown. Supplementation with the novel viscous polysaccharide PGX® (a listed medicine with the TGA, with the active ingredient known as Alginate-konjac-xanthan polysaccharide complex) in adults has shown beneficial effects on weight gain, satiety, lipids, glycaemic response and insulin sensitivity but there have been no studies on the effects in children. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the role of 5g PGX® supplementation (plain powder added to 250 mL milk and one spoon of sugar-free chocolate powder) compared to a placebo, for 16 weeks on fasting glucose, HbA1c, lipids, BMI for age percentile, body composition and satiety in overweight/obese children aged 9-13 years. Collectively, PGX® supplementation could be promoted to overweight and obese children as an aid to weight loss and management by increasing satiety and suppressing excess food intake. Therefore, a simple strategy of PGX® supplementation may offer an easy solution to improvements in metabolic syndrome in children without the need for other nutrient modification. Study Proposal: Seventy overweight and obese children will consume 10g PGX® or placebo supplement (as a divided dose of 5g) for 16 weeks. Fasting measurements of various metabolic risk factors such as glucose, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and lipids will be taken at 0 and 16 weeks. Height, body weight, body composition, waist, hip, blood pressure, body water and satiety will be measured at 0, 8 and 16 weeks.