There is now some evidence to suggest that one of the components that could contribute to obesity may be something as simple as the way we digest food.
What we weigh, could be in part due to the trillions of bacteria that line our intestines.
According to researchers, gut bacteria could be responsible for obesity, at least in part. Several studies demonstrated this:
- In one study there was a correlation found to exist between certain kind of bacteria lining the intestines of women aged between 40 and 45 and their respective body fat percentage.
- In another study it was found that the gut bacteria of obese children was more efficient than lean kids at breaking down food in a way that the body could use or store the food as fat.
- In other bacteria related study, researchers found that by and large there are about 10 major types of bacteria to be found in the gut; however the proportion of that bacteria can differ greatly. These differences could be due to genetics, diet or just plain luck.
- Studies on mice have been able to demonstrate that injecting thin mice with gut bacteria from fat mice can make the thin mice obese.
