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Not Enough of the Right Bacteria Could Cause Obesity |
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Written by Playfuls.com
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Thursday, 21 December 2006 |
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A novel health study on human bacteria could lead to new treatments for obesity, replacing the classic measures of diet and exercise. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis came up with the idea to compare bacteria in overweight and slim people. They proceeded to study fecal matter from 12 obese persons over a year-long period, while the subjects kept strict diets.
What they found was that the obese study participants had a lower percentage of a family of bacteria called Bacteroidetes and more of a type of bacteria called Firmicutes than a group of lean people.
A parallel study led by the same researchers found that a similar germ makeup in mice appears to make their bodies better able to extract calories from food - resulting in weight gain.
What attracted the scientists’ attention was the fact that as the obese individuals continued to diet, their bacterial levels became more like those of the thin people.
Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, lead investigator and director of the university's Center for Genome Sciences, said the two studies’ results pose some important questions.
“Are some adults predisposed to obesity because they 'start out' with fewer Bacteroidetes and more Firmicutes in their guts?” he asked in a prepared statement. “Can features of a reduced Bacteroidetes-Firmicutes enriched microbial community become part of our definition of an obese state or a diagnostic marker for an increased risk for obesity? And can we intentionally manipulate our gut microbial communities in safe and beneficial ways to regulate energy balance?”
The researchers need to make further investigations in order to ascertain whether a higher percentage of Firmicutes leads to obesity or if people who are obese develop more of that type of bacteria.
The comparison between percentage of bacteria before and after dieting bore a significant difference. Before dieting, bacteria in obese participants were about 3 percent Bacteroidetes. After dieting, when the participants were no longer obese, Bacteroidetes reached 15 percent.
What is refreshing is that scientists can study a new way of fighting obesity – changing the bacteria in the intestine and stomach.
“We are getting more and more evidence to show that obesity isn't what we thought it used to be. It isn't just [that] you're eating too much and you're lazy,” commented Nikhil Dhurandhar, a professor of infection and obesity at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. He was not involved in the research.
For decades, doctors have treated bacteria in a "warlike" manner, yet recent research indicates that "most encounters we have with microbes are very beneficial," Gordon said.
The twin studies are published in today’s issue of the journal Nature.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 13 January 2007 )
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