A recent global diabetes community article suggests that the ingestion of a prebiotic fibre supplement may assist in the gut health of children which assists them in keeping at a healthy weight.
Prebiotics are non-digestible fibres, which create microbes in the gut, improving gut health. The University of Calgary performed a study on a group of children, where they either took the prebiotics or a placebo. After four weeks, the children who ingested the prebiotic had a reduction in body fat. THey also studied stool samples, and the composition of the microbes in the gut changed dramatically in the samples of the children who ingested the prebiotics. It describes it as creating a breeding ground of good bacteria, which improves gut health, decreasing gut inflammation, and even helped suppress appetite in the brain.
Read more: Study links fibre supplement to better weight control in obese youth