BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Maybe it's germs in the
gut that are making you fat, according to studies in Thursday's issue
of Nature.
Researchers
found a strong connection between obesity and the levels of certain types of
bacteria in the gut. That could mean that someday there will be novel new ways
of treating obesity that go beyond the standard advice of diet and exercise.
The studies said both obese mice and people had more
of one type of bacteria and less of another kind.
A "microbial component" appears to contribute to obesity,
said study lead author Jeffrey Gordon, director of Washington University's
Center for Genome Sciences.
Obese humans and mice had a lower percentage of a family
of bacteria called Bacteroidetes and more of a type of bacteria called
Firmicutes, Gordon and his colleagues found.
When 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," said Gordon.
Scientists do not yet know if people start out with
lower levels of Bacteroidetes or Firmicutes, which may make them prone to
obesity.
"These are things we are exploring now. What are the
signals between the amount of fat and different groups of bacteria that exist in
the gut," said Gordon.
But growing evidence of this link gives scientists a
potentially new and still distant way of fighting obesity: Change the bacteria
in the intestines and stomach. It also may lead to a way of fighting
malnutrition in the future.
(Agencies)
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