Recent research from the University of Copenhagen suggests that a portion of the Danish population has a composition of gut microbes that, on average, extracts more energy from food than the microbes of their fellow Danes’ guts. The research is a step towards understanding why some people gain more weight than others, even after they eat the identical.

Study: Stool energy density is positively correlated to intestinal transit time and related to microbial enterotypes. Image Credit: Lightspring / Shutterstock

Unfair because it is, a few of us appear to placed on weight just by taking a look at a plate of Christmas cookies, while others can munch away with abandon and never gain a gram. A part of the reason could possibly be related to the composition of our gut microbes. That is in line with latest research conducted on the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports.

Researchers studied the residual energy within the feces of 85 Danes to estimate how effective their gut microbes are at extracting energy from food. At the identical time, they mapped the composition of gut microbes for every participant.

The outcomes show that roughly 40 percent of the participants belong to a bunch that, on average, extracts more energy from food in comparison with the opposite 60 percent. The researchers also observed that those that pulled essentially the most energy from food also weighed 10 percent more on average, amounting to an additional nine kilograms.

“We could have found a key to understanding why some people gain more weight than others, even after they don’t eat more or any in another way. But this must be investigated further,” says Associate Professor Henrik Roager of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports.

Associate professor Henrik Roager within the lab. Image Credit: University of Copenhagen

May increase the chance of obesity

The outcomes indicate that being obese won’t just be related to how healthy one eats or how much exercise one gets. It may have something to do with the composition of an individual’s gut microbes. 

Participants were divided into three groups based on the composition of their gut microbes. The so-called B-type composition (dominated by Bacteroides bacteria) is simpler at extracting nutrients from food and was observed in 40 percent of the participants.

Following the study, the researchers suspect that a portion of the population could also be disadvantaged by gut bacteria which can be too effective at extracting energy. This effectiveness may end in more calories available for the human host from the identical amount of food.

“The undeniable fact that our gut bacteria are great at extracting energy from food is essentially a very good thing, because the bacteria’s metabolism of food provides extra energy in the shape of, for instance, short-chain fatty acids , that are molecules that our body can use as energy-supplying fuel. But when we devour greater than we burn, the additional energy provided by the intestinal bacteria may increase the chance of obesity over time,” says Henrik Roager.

Short travel time within the gut surprises

From mouth to esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine, and at last, to the rectum, the food we eat takes a 12-to-36-hour journey, passing several stations along the way in which, before the body has extracted all of the food’s nutrients.

The researchers also studied the length of this journey for every participant, who had similar dietary patterns. Here, the researchers hypothesized that those with long digestive travel times could be those who harvested essentially the most nutrition from their food. However the study found the precise opposite.

“We thought that there could be an extended digestive travel time would allow more energy to be extracted. But here, we see that participants with the B-type gut bacteria that extract essentially the most energy, even have the fastest passage through the gastrointestinal system, which has given us something to take into consideration,” says Henrik Roager.

Confirms previous study in mice

The brand new study in humans confirms earlier studies in mice. In these studies, it was found that germ-free mice that received gut microbes from obese donors gained more weight in comparison with mice that received gut microbes from lean donors, despite being fed the identical eating regimen.

Even then, the researchers proposed that the differences in weight gain could possibly be attributable to the undeniable fact that the gut bacteria from obese people were more efficient at extracting energy from food. That is the speculation confirmed in the brand new study by the Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports.

“It is extremely interesting that the group of people that have less energy left of their stool also weigh more on average. Nonetheless, this study doesn’t provide proof that the 2 aspects are directly related. We hope to explore this more in the longer term,” says Henrik Roager. 

About gut bacteria:

• Everyone has a novel composition of gut bacteria – shaped by genetics, environment, lifestyle, and eating regimen.
• The gathering of gut bacteria, called the gut microbiota, is like a complete galaxy in our gut, with a staggering 100 billion of them per gram of stool.
• Gut bacteria within the colon serve to interrupt down food parts that our body’s digestive enzymes cannot, e.g., dietary fiber.
• Humans might be divided into three groups based on the presence and abundance of three important groups of bacteria that the majority of us have: B-type (Bacteroides), R-type (Ruminococcaceae), and P-type (Prevotella).

In regards to the study

• The energy content of stool specimens from 85 obese Danish men and women was examined.
• Participants included men and ladies from 22 to 66 years old.
• Forty percent of participants fell into a bunch characterised by having a lower diversity of gut bacteria and faster travel time for food through their digestive tracts.
• This group was also found to have less residual energy of their stool in comparison with the opposite two groups, which differences in habitual eating regimen couldn’t explain.
• The researchers also observed that the group with less energy of their stool weighed greater than the opposite groups.

Source:

• Source: University of Copenhagen – Faculty of Science

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