New Research Suggests That Your Gut Flora May Be Assisting You In Gaining Weight

Dec, 2022 - By WMR

A researcher’s team at the University of Copenhagen investigated the microbiome to learn more about the function that bacteria in gut may have in weight growth. The findings imply that particular population of bacteria are much more effective at taking energy from food, which might explain why some individuals gain weight while eating generally healthy diets.

A number of research conducted over the last few decades have shown intriguing correlations among the gut microbiota and obesity.

To conduct the study, researchers examined 85 middle-aged, overweight adult volunteers. Samples of fecal were examined not just for analysis of microbiome but also for tracking stool energy density as a metric of a person's gut microbial community.

Study even looked into an alternative obesity theory - intestinal transit time. Slower transit periods for food via stomach may have a role, rather than gut microorganisms being accountable for greater energy taken from food. The notion is that the prolonged food travels by the digestive tract, the further time we have to absorb energy from it.

Surprisingly, the researchers discovered that those with the quickest intestinal transit time extracted the greatest energy from meals. The microbiome seemed to be the most significant on extracting energy, with a microbe’s community concentrated by Bacteroides bacteria performing best.

Participants who have the highest energy-extraction gut bacteria B-type also had the quickest travel via gastrointestinal system.

In regards to gain in weight, the researchers discovered that those patients who extracted so much energy from the diet weighed roughly 10% more compared to those who were less effective at collecting energy from food. This corresponded to a weight differential of around 9 kg (20 lb) from greatest to least efficient extractors of energy.

"This is a good fact that the gut bacteria are very good at extracting food energy because the food metabolism of bacteria offers additional form of energy, like, short-chain fatty acids, these are compounding that body utilize as fuel" Roager explained. "However, if one consumes energy than that the body can burn, the excess energy supplied by bacteria of gut may raise the obesity risk."