NGS IEG: Early Consumption of Dietary sugar is Associated with Altered Gut microbiome In Infants and Later Child Health
Hello NGS IEG members!
This March 20th, we will be hosting Dr. Roshonda Jones, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at North Carolina A&T State University! Dr. Jones will be covering the association of the gut microbiome with sugar consumption in infants and later childhood 🍬🍨. Please see the following information below:
Title: Early Consumption of Dietary sugar is Associated with Altered Gut microbiome In Infants and Later Child Health
Abstract: Low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods have childhood obesity rates as high as 36% compared to affluent Los Angeles communities with rates ~5%. One factor contributing to this disparity is the decreased access to healthy food choices replaced with foods that are high in carbohydrates, especially added sugar. Against the background of these adversities for childhood obesity, breastfeeding, especially extended, can be protective. While the differences in the gut microbiota between human milk-fed and formula-fed infants are well understood, the impact of early introduction of added sugars in formula on the development of the infant gut microbiota has not been previously examined. We aimed to determine how added sugars can impact the developing gut microbiome of children and the impact this has on later child health. We found that at 6 months of age, infants who consume a specific formula that contains added sugar exhibited a significantly more ‘mature’ microbiome than infants who consume breastmilk and this difference is more pronounced than established differences in gut microbiota of infants fed traditional formula vs breastfed infants. This study provided the first evidence that consumption of infant formula with added sugar may have a stronger association than birth delivery mode, infant caloric intake, and maternal BMI on the infant’s microbiome at 6 months of age. We further found that this consumption of added sugar formula in first 6 months was associated with later eating behaviors at age 2 years. Specifically, we found that infants consuming added sugar formula had a higher food fussiness and lower enjoyment of food, which are risk factors for childhood obesity. These findings provide evidence of how early life food choice can impact later childhood obesity outcomes and these may be mediated by the gut microbiome.
Presenter’s bio: Dr. Roshonda Jones is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at North Carolina A&T State University. Research in her lab marries the fields of meta’omics, living environment, nutrition, and social determinants of health (SDoH) to understand and combat the development of type 2 diabetes and obesity as well as decreased cognitive function in underserved communities. Dr. Jones received her B.S. in Applied Mathematics at North Carolina A&T State University in 2011 and Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at UNC Charlotte in 2016. She continued her training as a postdoc at the University of Southern California and at Children's Hospital Los Angeles in a Childhood Obesity research lab where she focused on how added sugars increase obesity risk in Latinx children. She has also spent time in industry as a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist at a pet health start-up company where she examined how lifestyle factors influence obesity risk in pets via their gut microbiome.
Date:
March 20th, 2025
Schedule:
Lunch/social - 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM
Presentation - 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Social hour - 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Format: Meeting will be held both virtually and in-person. Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees.
Event Address:
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
15 T.W. Alexander Drive
Research Triangle Park,
NC 27709
Zoom link: https://ncbiotech.zoom.us/j/86440658342?pwd=MU9IckpYQUhHTnV6NE1UcXUvYnNXUT09
Meeting ID: 864 4065 8342
Passcode: 583621
Other NGS IEG info/links:
The NextGen Sequencing Intellectual Exchange Group (NGS IEG) provides a forum to share methods and technologies driving biotechnology research in North Carolina from both academic and private research groups. NGS IEG provides an excellent networking opportunity for biotech leaders, academics, and students interested in networking with local RTP biotech. We gather industry leaders from the RTP area to share, discuss and review their new technologies, research, and big-data platforms in a casual environment with lunch provided. Related NGS IEG links below:
Website & schedule: https://www.ncbiotech.org/networking/exchange-groups/next-generation-sequencing-group
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9175395/
Slack: https://join.slack.com/t/ngsiegrtp/shared_invite/zt-1jzbjegfp-NaawAc2nhzK~D_Z4DlKMWw