A new study could explain why you gain weight after Christmas While your family members stay lean even if they eat the same amount as you.
Researchers have studied how much energy Danes get from their food, based on an analysis of their faeces and the microbes they contain.
They found that about 40% of participants had microbes that extract more energy from food on average than the remaining 60%.
The researchers suspect that similar portions of the population could be disadvantaged by the presence of gut bacteria that are too efficient at extracting energy.
A new study could explain why you pile on weight after Christmas while your family members stay skinny. Part of the explanation may have to do with the makeup of our gut microbiota – the community of trillion microorganisms in the gut
The new study published in the journal Microbiomewas led by experts from the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sport at the University of Copenhagen.
The authors say this is a step towards understanding why some people gain more weight than others, even when they eat the same thing.
“We may have found a key to understanding why some people gain more weight than others, even when they are not eating more or eating differently, but this needs to be investigated further,” said Professor Henrik Roager, author of the study.
For the study, the experts analyzed the gut microbiota – the community of one trillion microorganisms in the gut – from participants’ stool samples.
The researchers describe the gut microbiota as “like an entire galaxy in our gut”, with 100 billion of them per gram of feces.
The research team studied the residual energy in the feces of 85 overweight Danes aged 22 to 66 to estimate the efficiency of their gut microbes in extracting energy from food.
At the same time, they mapped the composition of gut microbes for each participant.
The participants were divided into three groups, based on the composition of their gut microbes – “type B”, “type R” and “type P”.
Type B has been repeatedly associated with a Western lifestyle low in microbiota-accessible carbohydrates (MACs) typically found in fruits and vegetables, compared to type P, for example, linked to a diet high in in MAC.
The so-called B-type composition (dominated by Bacteroides bacteria), seen in 40% of participants, was more efficient at extracting nutrients from food, the experts found.
The researchers also found that those who got the most energy from food weighed an average of 10% more, or nine extra kilograms.
The efficiency of nutrient extraction in type B people can lead to the availability of more calories from the same amount of food, which can lead to obesity.
‘The food metabolism of bacteria provides additional energy in the form of, for example, short-chain fatty acids – molecules that our bodies can use as a source of energy,’ Professor Roager said.
“But if we consume more than we burn, the extra energy provided by gut bacteria may increase the risk of obesity over time.”
The researchers also looked at how long food traveled from the mouth, digestive system and rectum for each participant, who all had similar eating habits.
They had hypothesized that those with longer digestive journey times would extract the most energy from their food – but the study found otherwise.
Participants with type B gut bacteria (the type associated with extracting the most energy) also had the fastest passage through the gastrointestinal system.
“Although slower intestinal transit would theoretically allow for greater energy extraction, stool energy density was, contrary to what one might expect, positively associated with intestinal transit time,” the team explains. .
Illustration of the new study. The researchers had hypothesized that those with longer digestive journey times would extract the most energy from their food – but the study found otherwise.
“This apparent contradiction requires further deciphering of the driving forces that shape the gut microbial ecosystem.”
Although the scientists only used a small sample of Danish participants, it’s possible the findings could be applied to other global populations.
Overall, the results indicate that being overweight may not only be related to how healthy you eat or how much you exercise, but it may also have something to do with it. do with the microbes in our gut.
The new study also confirms previous rodent studies, including one co-authored by Professor Roager who was published in 2016.
In these studies, rodents that received gut microbes from obese donors gained more weight than rodents that received gut microbes from lean donors, despite the same diet.
Read similar stories here…
Dogs with more active ownersexercise more‘
Patients could “lose 10% weight in a few months” with diet drug injection
Children from the age of 5 View thin people as happier and more attractive
0 Comments