The Gut Connection to Weight

June 26, 2019
Home 9 Obesity Conditions 9 The Gut Connection to Weight

The etiology of obesity is complex. The research has shown that there are many internal and external influences on body weight, one major influence being the bacteria that live within our gut, or our microbiota. As research continues to emerge on the gut-brain axis and how the microbiota that live within us have profound effects on our daily lives, let’s take a moment to explore gut health and how it affects weight loss.

The human body has more bacteria cells than human cells. Research indicates that for a 150lb male, there are approximately 40 trillion bacterial cells to the 30 trillion human cells. The majority of bacteria live in the gut and help to carry out essential life tasks like fighting infections, producing essential vitamins like Vitamin K and even regulating digestion. Gut microbiota also influences on how our bodies digest certain foods which affects how bodies regulate hormone production, especially hormones relating to satiety.

Effect on Digestion

All gut microbiota come into contact with the food we ingest which in turn how nutrients metabolized and stored. One particular study analyzed twins (over 70 sets), one of whom was obese and the other not. There was an inverse relationship between gut diversity and weight, signaling that the more gut diversity one has, the slimmer their waistline. In another study, gut bacteria from obese humans were placed into mice who then in turn gained weight, suggesting a causation to weight gain.

Gut bacteria can also influence how we digest certain nutrients like dietary fats and antioxidants, all of which has an effect on our body weight. One example would be a plant compound known as flavonoids which has been linked to preventing weight gain. 

Lastly, we know that humans cannot digest fiber without the aid of the gut microbiota. In fact, the byproducts of fiber digestion have been linked to the reasons why people who consume higher fiber diets have lower rates of overweight and obesity.

Effects on Satiety

Our bodies produce chemicals and hormones such as peptide YY (PYY), ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and leptin, all of which regulate appetite. Each species of bacteria that live in our gut affects the quantities of each hormone produced which can make someone feel more or less hungry. Different gut microbiota that helps to digest dietary fibers encourage the production of proprionate, a short-chain fatty acid that’s been linked to increased circulating levels of hunger-influencing hormones.

Of interest to note, in one particular study where overweight people took supplemental proprionate, they experienced a reduced overall intake of food and reduced weight gain as well as circulating satiety hormones GLP-1 and PYY. This increase in proprionate links back to the intake of prebiotic fibers. In fact, R-Kane Nutritionals’ TinyMeal line is specifically formulated with 10g of prebiotic fiber that directly s support not only appetite but also calcium absorption and improved gut health.

Effects on Inflammation

By definition, inflammation is the body’s response to injury – it’s the body’s way to signal to the immune system that help is needed. Inflammation has been directly linked to diets that have an excess of fat, sugar and calories that contribute to weight gain. Some gut microbiota species produce lipopolysaccharides which is known to cause inflammation when it enters into the blood. Upon further study of gut microbiota and inflammation, studies have found that there exists an inverse relationship between levels of circulating c-reactive protein (a blood marker of inflammation) and lower gut diversity. In other words, the lower the gut diversity the higher the c-reactive protein, the more inflammation and weight gain.

In contrast, some gut species can actually promote reduction in inflammation and prevention of weight gain. Two such species Akkermansia and Bifidobacteria actually prevent inflammatory chemicals from entering into the bloodstream. In several animal models mice that have higher populations of Akkermansia actually had reduced body weight and insulin resistance. In similar studies, mice fed diets rich in prebiotic fibers helped to increase the presence of Bifidobacteria, which helped to blunt weight gain and insulin resistance with no effect on total energy intake.

While this is a new area of research and more research needs to be done to fully understand the gut-brain axis and its effect on obesity, there is no doubt that a connection exists. From antiquated phrases like, “you are what you eat,” to Hippocrates bolding proclaiming, “Let food be thy medicine,” there is absolute truth in the fact that a well-balanced diet will promote a body that is overall healthy. When we take care of our bodies from the inside out, eating nutrient and fiber rich foods like R-Kane Nutritionals’ TinyMeal bars, we see real, long-term changes in our body weight.

Citations

  1. Human Microbiome Project Consortium. Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome. Nature. 2012;486(7402):207–214. Published 2012 Jun 13. doi:10.1038/nature11234
  2. Sender R, Fuchs S, Milo R. Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body. PLoS Biol. 2016;14(8):e1002533. Published 2016 Aug 19. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002533
  3. Cho I, Blaser MJ. The human microbiome: at the interface of health and disease. Nat Rev Genet. 2012;13(4):260–270. Published 2012 Mar 13. doi:10.1038/nrg3182
  4. Krajmalnik-Brown R, Ilhan ZE, Kang DW, DiBaise JK. Effects of gut microbes on nutrient absorption and energy regulation. Nutr Clin Pract. 2012;27(2):201–214. doi:10.1177/0884533611436116
  5. Fetissov, Sergueï O. Role of the gut microbiota in host appetoite control: bacterial growth to animal feeding behaviour. Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume13, pages11–25 (2017). doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2016.150.
  6. Turnbaugh PJ, Hamady M, Yatsunenko T, et al. A core gut microbiome in obese and lean twins. Nature. 2009;457(7228):480–484. doi:10.1038/nature07540
  7. Ridaura VK, Faith JJ, Rey FE, et al. Gut microbiota from twins discordant for obesity modulate metabolism in mice. Science. 2013;341(6150):1241214. doi:10.1126/science.1241214
  8. Ridaura VK, Faith JJ, Rey FE, et al. Gut microbiota from twins discordant for obesity modulate metabolism in mice. Science. 2013;341(6150):1241214. doi:10.1126/science.1241214
  9. Koh, Ara et. al. From Dietary Fiber to Host Physiology: Short-Chain Fatty Acids as Key Bacterial Metabolites. Cell 165, June 2, 2016. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.041
  10. Ludwig DS, Pereira MA, Kroenke CH, Hilner JE, Van Horn L, Slattery ML, Jacobs DR Jr. Dietary fiber, weight gain, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults. JAMA. 1999 Oct 27;282(16):1539-46. PubMed PMID: 10546693
  11. Bäckhed F, Ding H, Wang T, Hooper LV, Koh GY, Nagy A, Semenkovich CF, Gordon JI. The gut microbiota as an environmental factor that regulates fat storage. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Nov 2;101(44):15718-23. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0407076101. Epub 2004 Oct 25. PubMed PMID: 15505215; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC524219
  12. Thaiss CA, Itav S, Rothschild D, Meijer MT, Levy M, Moresi C, Dohnalová L, Braverman S, Rozin S, Malitsky S, Dori-Bachash M, Kuperman Y, Biton I, Gertler A, Harmelin A, Shapiro H, Halpern Z, Aharoni A, Segal E, Elinav E. Persistent microbiome alterations modulate the rate of post-dieting weight regain. Nature. 2016 Dec 22;540(7634):544-551. doi: 10.1038/nature20796
  13. Brooks L, Viardot A, Tsakmaki A, et al. Fermentable carbohydrate stimulates FFAR2-dependent colonic PYY cell expansion to increase satiety. Mol Metab. 2016;6(1):48–60. Published 2016 Nov 4. doi:10.1016/j.molmet.2016.10.011
  14. Cani PD, Neyrinck AM, Fava F, Knauf C, Burcelin RG, Tuohy KM, Gibson GR, Delzenne NM. Selective increases of bifidobacteria in gut microflora improve high-fat-diet-induced diabetes in mice through a mechanism associated with endotoxaemia. Diabetologia. 2007 Nov;50(11):2374-83. doi: 10.1007/s00125-007-0791-0
  15. Everard A, Belzer C, Geurts L, Ouwerkerk JP, Druart C, Bindels LB, Guiot Y, Derrien M, Muccioli GG, Delzenne NM, de Vos WM, Cani PD. Cross-talk between Akkermansia muciniphila and intestinal epithelium controls diet-induced obesity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 May 28;110(22):9066-71. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1219451110
  16. König J, Wells J, Cani PD, García-Ródenas CL, MacDonald T, Mercenier A, Whyte J, Troost F, Brummer RJ. Human Intestinal Barrier Function in Health and Disease. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2016 Oct 20;7(10):e196. doi: 10.1038/ctg.2016.54
  17. Le Chatelier E, Nielsen T, Qin J, Prifti E, Hildebrand F, Falony G, Almeida M, Arumugam M, Batto JM, Kennedy S, Leonard P, Li J, Burgdorf K, Grarup N, Jørgensen T, Brandslund I, Nielsen HB, Juncker AS, Bertalan M, Levenez F, Pons N, Rasmussen S, Sunagawa S, Tap J, Tims S, Zoetendal EG, Brunak S, Clément K, Doré J, Kleerebezem M, Kristiansen K, Renault P, Sicheritz-Ponten T, de Vos WM, Zucker JD, Raes J, Hansen T, Bork P, Wang J, Ehrlich SD, Pedersen O. Richness of human gut microbiome correlates with metabolic markers. Nature. 2013 Aug 29;500(7464):541-6. doi: 10.1038/nature12506
  18. Gregor MF, Hotamisligil GS. Inflammatory mechanisms in obesity. Annu Rev Immunol. 2011;29:415-45. doi: 10.1146/annurev-immunol-031210-101322.
  19. Cani PD, Lecourt E, Dewulf EM, Sohet FM, Pachikian BD, Naslain D, De Backer F, Neyrinck AM, Delzenne NM. Gut microbiota fermentation of prebiotics increases satietogenic and incretin gut peptide production with consequences for appetite sensation and glucose response after a meal. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Nov;90(5):1236-43. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28095
  20. Cani PD, Joly E, Horsmans Y, Delzenne NM. Oligofructose promotes satiety in healthy human: a pilot study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2006 May;60(5):567-72. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602350
  21. Chambers ES, Viardot A, Psichas A, Morrison DJ, Murphy KG, Zac-Varghese SE, MacDougall K, Preston T, Tedford C, Finlayson GS, Blundell JE, Bell JD, Thomas EL, Mt-Isa S, Ashby D, Gibson GR, Kolida S, Dhillo WS, Bloom SR, Morley W, Clegg S, Frost G. Effects of targeted delivery of propionate to the human colon on appetite regulation, body weight maintenance and adiposity in overweight adults. Gut. 2015 Nov;64(11):1744-54. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2014-307913
Close