Bacteria in the intestines can modify the body's chemistry to alter the amount of food that becomes stored as fat, according to a finding in mice reported this week that could help in controlling obesity.
A team from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis had reported last month that obese mice -- and humans -- have an unusually high proportion of a family of intestinal bacteria that are exceptionally efficient at breaking down complex sugars in the diet into a form that is readily absorbed. The upshot is that the bacteria make more calories available to the body from a given quantity of food, leading to weight gain.
The same group reported in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that the bacteria also play a more direct role, manipulating body chemistry to increase the amount of food stored as fat.
Dr. Jeffrey I. Gordon and his colleagues fed both microbe-free and normal mice a "Western" diet, high in fat and sugars. The sterile mice stayed lean, while those with intestinal bacteria gained weight and eventually became obese.
Closer inspection revealed that the bacteria were interfering with two intestinal processes.
| • | Blame fat on the bacteria -- again
SCIENCE FILE The Los Angeles Times, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007 Byline: Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer |
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| Story also ran in 5 others: The Economis (UK), China Post (Taiwan), ABC News, Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Jackson Hole Star-Tribune (WY) |
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