To establish whether probiotic supplemented dietary counselling influences maternal anthropometric measurements during and after pregnancy.

At the first trimester of pregnancy 256 women were randomly assigned to receive nutrition counselling to modify dietary intake according to current recommendations or as controls; dietary intervention groups were further randomized to receive probiotics Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (ATCC 53103) and Bifidobacterium lactis (diet/probiotics) or placebo (diet/placebo) capsules in a double-blind manner, whilst the controls received placebo (control/placebo). The intervention lasted until the end of exclusive breastfeeding for up to six months.

The risk of central adiposity defined as waist circumference 80 cm or more was lowered in women in the diet/probiotics group compared with the control/placebo group (OR 0.30, 95%CI 0.11-0.85, p = 0.023 adjusted for baseline BMI), whilst the diet/placebo group did not differ from the controls (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.38-2.68, p = 0.994) at 6 months postpartum. The number needed to treat (NNT) with diet/probiotics to prevent one woman from developing a waist circumference of 80 cm or more was 4. Healthy eating pattern at 12 months postpartum (p = 0.001) and BMI prior to pregnancy (p < 0.001) were strong determinants of BMI at 12 months postpartum when adjusted for dietary intervention and exercise.

The impact of probiotics-supplemented dietary counselling on central adiposity, may offer a novel means for the prevention and management of obesity. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT 00167700, section 3.