New evidence that bacteria in large intestine have a role in obesity
Date: 22.12.2011
Bacteria living in people's large intestine may slow down the activity of the "good" kind of fat tissue, a special fat that quickly burns calories and may help prevent obesity, scientists are reporting in a new study. The discovery, published in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, could shed light on ways to prevent obesity and promote weight loss, including possible microbial and pharmaceutical approaches, the authors said.
In experiments that compared "germ-free" (GF) mice, which don't have large-intestine bacteria, and regular mice, the scientists uncovered evidence suggesting that the bacteria do influence the activity of brown fat. Brown fat in the GF mice seemed to be more active, burning calories faster than in regular mice. Large-intestine bacteria also seemed to be linked with gender differences in weight
