Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity.

Author: Ley RE, Turnbaugh PJ, Klein S, Gordon JI

Author affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63108, USA.

Publication date & source: 2006.12.21, Nature., 444(7122):1022-3.

Publication type: Clinical Trial

Two groups of beneficial bacteria are dominant in the human gut, the Bacteroidetes and the Firmicutes. Here we show that the relative proportion of Bacteroidetes is decreased in obese people by comparison with lean people, and that this proportion increases with weight loss on two types of low-calorie diet. Our findings indicate that obesity has a microbial component, which might have potential therapeutic implications.