Abstract
Two groups of beneficial bacteria are dominant in the human gut, the Bacteroidetes and the Firmicutes. Here we show that the relative proportion of Bacteroidetes is decreased in obese people by comparison with lean people, and that this proportion increases with weight loss on two types of low-calorie diet. Our findings indicate that obesity has a microbial component, which might have potential therapeutic implications.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gill, S. R. et al. Science 312, 1355–1359 (2006).
Backhed, F. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 101, 15718–15723 (2004).
Ley, R. E. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 102, 11070–11075 (2005).
Turnbaugh, P. J. et al. Nature 444, 1027–1031 (2006). | Article |
Rawls, J. F., Mahowald, M. A., Ley, R. E. & Gordon, J. I. Cell 127, 423–433 (2006).
Eckburg, P. B. et al. Science 308, 1635–1638 (2005).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ley, R., Turnbaugh, P., Klein, S. et al. Human gut microbes associated with obesity. Nature 444, 1022–1023 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/4441022a
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4441022a
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Fine-scale geographic difference of the endangered Big-headed Turtle (Platysternon megacephalum) fecal microbiota, and comparison with the syntopic Beale’s Eyed Turtle (Sacalia bealei)
BMC Microbiology (2024)
-
The gut-liver axis in hepatobiliary diseases
Inflammation and Regeneration (2024)
-
Deciphering the gut microbiome of grass carp through multi-omics approach
Microbiome (2024)
-
Dietary sodium acetate and sodium butyrate improve high-carbohydrate diet utilization by regulating gut microbiota, liver lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology (2024)
-
A Mendelian randomization study on the effects of plasma lipids on irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia
Scientific Reports (2024)