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The Role of Microbes in Common Non-Infectious Diseases pp 59–73Cite as

The Role of Microbes in Obesity

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Part of the book series: Emerging Infectious Diseases of the 21st Century ((EIDC,volume 1))

Abstract

There is a pandemic occurrence of obesity and overweight in all regions of the world which poses serious threat to the well-being of the global population. Although obesity and overweight of 50–60 % of the population in North America and Europe have been well recognized for several years, there is also great increase in developing countries. Obesity may not just be due to lifestyle changes in modern societies, such as overeating of high caloric foods and decrease in physical activity. The pathophysiology of the genesis of obesity is reviewed in this chapter, including the effect of genetic factors which account for 20–25 % of the obesity in the population. Great progress has been made in our understanding of the importance of the intestinal microbial community through animal experiments. The enormous pool of microbial genomes [microbiome] may function as a programmed bioreactor. Evidences are reviewed which indicate that the gut microbiota/microbiome likely function in some capacity in human energy balance, weight gain, and fat storage.

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    I. W. Fong

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Fong, I.W. (2014). The Role of Microbes in Obesity. In: The Role of Microbes in Common Non-Infectious Diseases. Emerging Infectious Diseases of the 21st Century, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1670-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1670-2_3

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