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The Gut Microbiome and Obesity

Current Oncology Reports volume 18, Article number: 45 (2016) Cite this article

Abstract

The gut microbiome consists of trillions of bacteria which play an important role in human metabolism. Animal and human studies have implicated distortion of the normal microbial balance in obesity and metabolic syndrome. Bacteria causing weight gain are thought to induce the expression of genes related to lipid and carbohydrate metabolism thereby leading to greater energy harvest from the diet. There is a large body of evidence demonstrating that alteration in the proportion of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes leads to the development of obesity, but this has been recently challenged. It is likely that the influence of gut microbiome on obesity is much more complex than simply an imbalance in the proportion of these phyla of bacteria. Modulation of the gut microbiome through diet, pre- and probiotics, antibiotics, surgery, and fecal transplantation has the potential to majorly impact the obesity epidemic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    George Kunnackal John & Gerard E. Mullin

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  1. George Kunnackal John
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  2. Gerard E. Mullin
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Correspondence to Gerard E. Mullin.

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George Kunnackal John and Gerard E. Mullin declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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John, G.K., Mullin, G.E. The Gut Microbiome and Obesity. Curr Oncol Rep 18, 45 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-016-0528-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-016-0528-7

Keywords

  • Microbiome
  • Obesity
  • Microbiota
  • Diet
  • Prebiotic
  • Probiotic
  • Microbial balance
  • Bacteroidetes
  • Firmicutes