Fat bacteria in gut behind obesity, study shows

Bristol, October 19: There is a strong connection between obesity and certain forms of bacteria in your gut, says the recent research. While bacteria in the human gut aid in digestion, some bacteria can influence your obesity levels.

The study found that obese bacteria might lead to more weight gain. The bacteria have genesdefine that make them better at extracting calories/nutrients from food.

Researchers at the UT South-western Medical Center suggest the fact that it is the presence of certain kind of bacteria in the human digestive tract which affects how much weight a person gains.

According to this new research, there are two types of bacteria that activate a receptor molecule, called Gpr41, which helps slow down the food so that it can be processed completely. During this process, more nutrients or calories are extracted from the food leading to weight gain in the human body.

While the presence of such species of bacteria are found to be reason behind the weight gain, the absence of these means that fewer nutrients and energy will be absorbed by our body due to the fast digestion process.

Researchers, during a study on genetically-altered mouse subjects, came out with findings which showed that those that were bred without Gpr41 were slimmer than the others although fed on the same quantity of food.

Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa, Molecular genetics professor at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study, reveals that scientists might be able to find a remedy for people with certain forms of obesity. "It's quite possible that blocking this receptor molecule in the intestine might fight a certain kind of obesity by blocking absorption of energy from the gut."

The research also came to conclude that although the lack of Gpr41 does result in less calories and energy in the human body, but it does not pose any health risks.

With the discoveries of this study, we might see the researchers finding a cure for obese people in the times ahead.