A new study suggests that’ Gut Bacteria’ may be responsible in making some people prone to obesity. This bacterium carries out the function of converting food into energy.
The Study which has been published in the Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which is available on line since 19th Jan, 009 suggests that the composition of microbes within the gut could hold the key to one of the causes of obesity. The results arose out of the examination conducted on 9 middle aged volunteers by Arizona’s State University’s Brodesign Institute in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. They were divided into groups consisting of normal weight and morbidly obese. The hypothesis that differing microbaila population in the gut allows the body to harvest more energy thus making people more prone to obesity was tested.
The results of the study supports this hypothesis in the finding that the microbial composition among the obese patients appear significantly altered compared with normal weight of individuals and those who have undergone gastric bypass surgery.
It has to be kept in mind as indicated by the researchers themselves, the study is preliminary in nature because of the small sample. Further research would be needed to establish the veracity of these results. They need to establish the differences in composition of gut microbiata across different age groups and under varying weigh-loss regimens involving diet and exercises.
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