Gut bacteria may determine body weight
Bacteria in the gut may determine whether people are skinny or obese, according to scientists who say that food, exercise and genetics may not be the only things to influence body weight.
US scientists have discovered that levels of two types of good bacteria in the gut that help to break down foods are different in obese and lean people, and mice.
The finding, reported in the journal Nature, could lead to a better understanding of why some people may be prone to obesity and help find new ways of preventing or treating it.
“Our gut microbial structure should be considered when understanding the elements that might regulate our energy balance and may predispose us to obesity,” says Professor Jeffrey Gordon, of the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis.
The scientists found that the proportion of bacteroidetes bacteria is lower in obese mice and people than in lean people.
But when Prof Gordon and his team studied 12 obese people who followed low-calorie diets for a year, they found their levels of bacteroidetes rose as their weight decreased.
“They increased as the weight is lost and in proportion to the amount of weight loss,” says Gordon.
The results suggest that there may be a microbial component to obesity. But scientists do not yet know if people start out with lower levels of bacteroidetes or firmicutes that may make them prone to obesity.
