No between-group differences in alpha and beta diversity were observed between stunted and non-stunted children, though exploratory analysis identified several differentially abundant taxa, and breastfeeding significantly shaped microbiota profiles.
No statistically significant differences in alpha or beta diversity were observed between stunted and non-stunted children aged 18-23 months.
Exploratory analysis identified several bacterial taxa with differential proportional abundance between stunted and non-stunted children.
There was no association found between food group consumption and the abundance of the differentially identified bacterial taxa.
Breastfeeding significantly shaped microbiota profiles in children aged 18-23 months.
The authors recommend longitudinal study designs and diet modelling approaches for future research on the diet-microbiome-growth axis.
This research studied whether the gut bacteria (microbiome) of stunted young children in Indonesia differ from those of non-stunted children of the same age, and whether what children eat influences those bacterial differences. The study matched 150 stunted children aged 18-23 months with 150 non-stunted children and analyzed their gut bacteria using genetic sequencing. Overall, the researchers found no significant difference in the general diversity of gut bacteria between stunted and non-stunted children. However, a more detailed exploratory look found that certain specific types of bacteria appeared in different proportions between the two groups, with some bacteria being more common in non-stunted children and one type more common in stunted children. Despite finding these bacterial differences, the study found no link between what food groups the children were eating and the presence of those particular bacteria. Notably, whether a child was still breastfeeding had a strong influence on the overall makeup of their gut microbiome. This suggests that in children this age, breastfeeding may be a more dominant factor shaping gut bacteria than the types of solid foods they consume. This research suggests that studying the relationship between diet and gut bacteria in young children is complex, and simple measures of food group intake may not be enough to detect meaningful patterns. The authors point out that future studies would benefit from more sophisticated dietary analysis methods and from following children over time rather than taking a single snapshot, in order to better understand how diet, gut bacteria, and child growth are connected.
Htet M, Nurfadilah M, Ramsteijn A, Angelin T, Ameline A, Momo Kadia B, et al.. (2026). Exploring the diet-microbiome-growth axis among under-2-year-old children: a case-control study in East Lombok, Indonesia.. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2025.0045