Obesity linked to a gut bacteria

[gturner]

This was not unexpected, as the CDC noted that obesity spreads like a low level infectious disease.

A Shanghai Jiao Tong University professor published a study in an internationally recognized science journal that found a direct link between a kind of intestinal bacterium and obesity in humans, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.

It marks the first time a scientist has shown a causal relationship between the two, according to the report.

Zhao Liping, deputy dean of the School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and his research team got their study published in the December 13 issue of The ISME Journal, a journal of microbial ecology.

Zhao found out that a particular kind of intestinal bacteria called enterobacter cloacae could cause obesity because its extracted endotoxin activates a gene that helps generate fat and deactivates a gene that causes fat to be consumed, according to the report.

link

[Hound of UIster]

And insulin resistance too according to the abstract.

[gturner]

If that's true, it also raises the possibiity that obesity has no connecion to diabetes, other than having this common bacterial cause that makes them correlate.

[farmkid]

I saw this last night. It's very interesting and I'm curious to see how this pans out. I wonder, however, how this fits with the observation that gastric bypass surgery almost always cures Type II diabetes almost immediately (within a day or two) after surgery. Presumably the surgery wouldn't get rid of the bacteria, but perhaps the remodeling of the digestive tract changes the environment of the bacteria enough that it no longer has the same effect. I'll be interested to watch how this unfolds.

[Robert Maxwell]

farmkid wrote:

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I saw this last night. It's very interesting and I'm curious to see how this pans out. I wonder, however, how this fits with the observation that gastric bypass surgery almost always cures Type II diabetes almost immediately (within a day or two) after surgery. Presumably the surgery wouldn't get rid of the bacteria, but perhaps the remodeling of the digestive tract changes the environment of the bacteria enough that it no longer has the same effect. I'll be interested to watch how this unfolds.

I have never heard that before. Do you have a good link? Sounds interesting.

[gturner]

I've heard it before, and though widely noted, I don't think they had a way to explain it. Here's a WebMD link

People who underwent one of two stomach-reducing procedures were three to four times more likely to have their blood sugar drop to normal levels after one year of treatment compared with people who received intensive medical therapy alone.

Some people who had surgery got better so quickly that they were able to stop taking their diabetes medication before even leaving the hospital, says study head Philip Schauer, MD, director of the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

<snip>

In one recent study, 89% of people with type 2 diabetes who underwent gastric bypass surgery went into remission and 57% were still in remission after five years.

Reducing the amount of small intesting should be directly reducing the total load of gut bacteria, and perhaps the surgery is also changing the pH, shifting the balance of floura.

[RAMA]

Or it could be because people eat too much, or the wrong foods and dont exercise..yeah that too.

RAMA

[farmkid]

Robert Maxwell wrote:

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I have never heard that before. Do you have a good link? Sounds interesting.

I've heard about it from a few sources. A person I know who had the surgery was told that by her doctor and experienced it herself. It seems I've seen it mentioned a time or two in scientific journals, although I didn't pay much attention to it at the time so I can't give you any details other than that. It caught my attention more recently when Discover Magazine published an article about it. It's a good article for an interested layman. link

RAMA wrote:

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Or it could be because people eat too much, or the wrong foods and dont exercise..yeah that too.

RAMA

Well yes, that's been the conventional wisdom for quite some time. The experience of many people and recent research indicates it's not that simple. If you read the linked article you would see that in this case, diet and exercise had nothing to do with the weight gain/loss of the animals or the one guy who were part of the research.

[GalaxyX]

RAMA wrote:

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Or it could be because people eat too much, or the wrong foods and dont exercise..yeah that too.

RAMA

lol I was about to say the same thing.

[Robert Maxwell]

RAMA wrote:

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Or it could be because people eat too much, or the wrong foods and dont exercise..yeah that too.

RAMA

That is empirically not the case for everyone who is obese. How many people are obese primarily due to overeating and lack of exercise is, of course, up for debate.

[GalaxyX]

Robert Maxwell wrote:

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That is empirically not the case for everyone who is obese. How many people are obese primarily due to overeating and lack of exercise is, of course, up for debate.

I'll give you my take.

There are a lot of environmental reasons why people are obese. However, it is within the grasp of everyone who wants to lose weight to do so.

Not everyone can be ripped at 7% bodyfat year round, but most people can get to normal weights, even if on the high of normal?

If I remember correctly, as a general rule, a man over 20% bf is starting to become overweight. However, obesity doesn't really kick in until the guy is 30%+ bf.

Some obese people are easily over 50%. That is nuts! that means half the weight you are carrying is just extra fat that you don't need.

If an obese person subceptible to negative external factors made a bit of effort, while it would be very hard for them to become lean, they could at least get into the 20-30% range and would make a huge difference to their health and lifestyle.

[Chemahkuu]

GalaxyX wrote:

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However, it is within the grasp of everyone who wants to lose weight to do so.

No, it isn't.

I have two close friends who are overweight through no fault of their own, who cannot lose significant weight no matter what they do.

And they have been to doctors, dieticians, tried everything and anything short of surgery for more than ten years now and it is very much a genetic problem they cannot shake.

[GalaxyX]

Chemahkuu wrote:

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No, it isn't.

I have two close friends who are overweight through no fault of their own, who cannot lose significant weight no matter what they do.

And they have been to doctors, dieticians, tried everything and anything short of surgery for more than ten years now and it is very much a genetic problem they cannot shake.

Well, I think one of the problems is that doctors are usually a bunch of morons when it comes to weight loss.

Really it's a matter of physics and biology.

The formula to lose weight is: Burn more calories than you eat per day.

It is almost impossible to not lose weight by following that. It's simple physics and biology (and math).

Are your friends men or women?

[Chemahkuu]

Oh I see, you are clueless, nevermind.

[GalaxyX]

Chemahkuu wrote:

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Oh I see, you are clueless, nevermind.

And you're in denial?