Is Bad Bacteria Linked To Obesity?
December 20, 2012Is Bad Bacteria Linked To Obesity?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 78 million individuals are obese in the United States alone, including 12.5 million children. The causes of our obesity epidemic have been bantered back and forth for years; our lack of exercise, the super-sized meals the commercials advertise to us, sodas, sugars, and sweets. The list of foods thought to contribute to obesity can fill pages and pages of a book and with computers, video games, and the vast electronics at our finger tips, our lifestyles have become increasingly sedentary. But now, according to researchers in China, we might be able to add a new cause of obesity in to the mix...bad bacteria, also known as Enterobacter cloacae. Enterobacter are pathogens responsible for various infections including urinary tract infections and the bacterium encourages the body to make and store fat.
In an article published this month in the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) journal, the Shanghai researchers wrote about their ability to isolate the "bad bacteria" in the case of a 385-pound volunteer. They then devised a special diet designed to kill the bacteria which made up 35 percent of the microorganisms found in the volunteers stomach. The diet consisted of whole grains, prebiotics, and Chinese medicinal foods. With in 23 weeks, the volunteer lost 113-pounds and all traces of the bacteria targeted were gone. Additionally, the volunteer was free from comorbidities such as his Type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and fatty liver.
Lead researcher, Zhao Liping and his team are excited about their findings and are expected to expand their study by recruiting more volunteers to further support their research efforts.
-Photo courtesy of colros