Conclusion
Daily consumption of 1 or 2 x125g servings of Activia® may have positive effects on self-reported digestive comfort and help improve several digestive symptoms in healthy adults
Summary of individual efficacy studies in healthy populations
Does Activia® improve self-reported digestive discomfort in healthy adults?
Guyonnet et al.,2009a[1]
Study Type
Randomised, controlled, open-label, parallel group trial
Intervention
Daily consumption of 1 or 2 x 125g servings of Activia® or no intervention
Study end points
Likert scale, self-evaluation and digestive symptoms questionnaire
Control
No intervention, continued with normal diet
Population
360 healthy adults (18-65 y/o) with self-reported digestive discomfort and a normal stool frequency
Length
14 days
Key results
Significantly more people
reported improvement in general digestive comfort with Activia®
Significantly greater improvement
for almost all digestive symptoms, including feeling bloated and excessive or trapped wind, with Activia®
Does Activia® improve gastrointestinal (GI) well-being and digestive symptoms in women with minor digestive discomfort?
Guyonnet et al., 2009b[2]
Study type
Randomised, double-blind, controlled, parallel clinical trial
Intervention
Daily consumption of 2 x125g of Activia®
Study end points
Likert scale, self-evaluation, rate of responders for gastrointestinal well-being and frequency score and composite score for digestive symptoms
Control
Daily consumption of non-fermented dairy product with low lactose content (n=97)
Population
197 women (18-60 y/o) with minor digestive symptoms but without gastrointestinal disorders
Length
4 weeks and 4-week washout period
Key results
Significantly more women
reported improvement in their gastrointestinal well-being with Activia®
Significant decrease in digestive symptoms
(based on composite score) with Activia®
Significant improvement in stool consistency
and decrease in flatulence frequency plus stomach rumbling with Activia®
Conclusion
Daily consumption of 2 x 125g servings of Activia® may improve gastrointestinal well-being and digestive symptoms in women reporting minor digestive symptoms. The effect of Activia® was no longer observed once consumption was stopped; reports of gastroi...
Can Activia® improve minor digestive symptoms in healthy women?
Marteau et al., 2013[3]
Study type
Randomised, double-blind, controlled parallel, clinical trial, a repetition of the Guyonnet et al., 2009b study, and a pooled analysis of both studies
Intervention
2 x 125g servings of Activia®
Study end points
Likert scale plus mix of gastrointestinal well-being and symptom self-evaluations and assessments
Control
Daily consumption of non-fermented dairy product with low lactose content
Population
324 healthy women (18-60 y/o) with minor digestive symptoms but without diagnosed gastrointestinal disorders
Length
4 weeks
Key results
Improved gastrointestinal well-being
(non-significant) with Activia®
Significant decrease in the composite score
of digestive symptoms with Activia®
No significant difference observed
for single symptoms
Pooled analysis
Significantly improved
gastrointestinal well-being with Activia®
Significant decrease
in the composite score of digestive symptoms with Activia®
Conclusion
The pooled analysis showed daily consumption of 2 x 125g servings of Activia® may improve gastrointestinal well-being and reduce digestive symptoms in women reporting mild gastrointestinal discomfort
Can Activia® reduce minor digestive issues in healthy women?
Marteau et al., 2019[4]
Study type
Pooled analysis of two previously published studies[2][3]
Intervention
Daily consumption of 2 x 125g servings of Activia® or a control
Study end points
composite score of various digestive symptom evaluations, dietary fibre intake and physical activity also recorded
Control
Daily consumption of non-fermented dairy product without bacterial strains
Population
538 healthy women with minor digestive symptoms
Length
4 weeks
Key results
Significant decrease
in the composite score of digestive symptoms (bloating, abdominal pain/ discomfort, flatulence, borborygmi/rumbling) after consuming Activia® for just 2 weeks
Fibre intake-by-product group,
physical activity-by-product group and time-by-product group were not statistically significant
Conclusion
Daily consumption of 2 x125g servings of Activia® may reduce minor digestive issues after only 2 weeks of consumption, independent of factors like dietary fibre consumed and physical activity
Activia research: Summary of individual efficacy studies IBS-C populations
Does Activia® reduce abdominal distension in association with accelerated colonic and small bowel transit times in women with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C)?
Agrawal et al., 2009[5]
Study type
Randomised, controlled, double-blind parallel group study
Intervention
Daily consumption of 2 x 125g servings of Activia® (n = 18)
Study end points
Plethysmography to measure abdominal girth; radiopaque marker to measure colonic transit time; hydrogen breath test to measure small bowel transit time; Likert scale and self-evaluation to measure IBS and digestive symptoms
Control
Daily consumption of a non-fermented dairy product with a low lactose content (n=20)
Population
38 women (18-70 y/o) with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C)
Length
4 weeks
Key results
Trend towards reduced mean abdominal distension
during the day and a significant reduction in maximal distension with Activia® after consuming Activia® for just 2 weeks
Significantly accelerated
bowel transit times with Activia®
Significantly improved IBS
Significantly improved IBS (digestive) symptom severity with Activia®
Conclusion
Daily consumption of 2 x 125g servings of Activia® may reduce abdominal distension in association with accelerated colonic and small bowel transit times in women with IBS-C and may also improve digestive comfort by reducing overall IBS symptom severi...
Does Activia® improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome with predominant constipation (IBS-C) and health-related quality of life in adults?
Guyonnet et al., 2007[6]
Study type
Double-blind, randomised controlled parallel study
Intervention
Daily consumption of 2 x 125g of Activia® (n = 135)
Study end points
Digestive discomfort dimension of the Functional Digestive Disorder Quality of Life (FDDQL), self-evaluation, and rate of responders to measure health-related quality of life; stools self-evaluated with Bristol Stool Scale to measure bowel function
Control
Daily consumption of a heat-treated yogurt containing non-living bacteria (n=132)
Population
267 adults (18-65 y/o)
Length
6 weeks
Key results
Improvement in FDDQL questionnaire
on digestive discomfort score and bloating
Positive effect on stool frequency
in people having less than 3 stools per week
Conclusion
Daily consumption of 2 x125g servings of Activia® may improve the FDDQL digestive discomfort score and bloating in people with IBS-C and may also have a positive effect on stool frequency
References
[1] Guyonnet D, et al. Fermented milk containing Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010 improved self-reported digestive comfort amongst a general population of adults. A randomized, open-label, controlled, pilot study. Journal of Digestive Diseases, 2009; 10: 61-70.
[2] Guyonnet D, et al. Fermented milk containing Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010 improves gastrointestinal well-being and digestive symptoms in women reporting minor digestive symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, parallel, controlled study. British Journal of Nutrition, 2009; 102(11):1654-62.
[3] Marteau P, et al. A randomized, double-blind, controlled study and pooled analysis of two identical trials of fermented milk containing probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis CNCM I-2494 in healthy women reporting minor digestive symptoms. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2013 Apr;25(4):331-e252.
[4] Marteau P., et al. A post-hoc pooled analysis of two previously published clinical studies (randomized, double-blind, controlled) with a fermented milk containing probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis CNCM I-2494 in healthy women reporting minor digestive symptoms after 4 weeks of consumption. Nutrients. 2019 Jan; 11(1): 92.
[5] Agrawal A, et al. Clinical trial: the effects of a fermented milk product containing Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010 on abdominal distension and gastrointestinal transit in irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2009; 29(1): 104-114
[6] Guyonnet D, et al. Effect of a fermented milk containing Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173 010 on the health-related quality of life and symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome in adults in primary care: a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2007; 26 (3): 475-486.Guyonnet D, et al. Fermented milk containing Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173 010 improved self-reported digestive comfort amongst a general population of adults. A randomized, open-label, controlled, pilot study. Journal of Digestive Diseases, 2009; 10: 61-70.
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