Xanthippa's Chamberpot

This is not the first article I’ve read over the last few years about indicators that intestinal bacteria play a large role in obesity.  Sure, personal habits and choices play a role – if a person consistently consumes high Calorie meals, several times a day, this will show up in their weight.  But, not every obese person consistently indulges – yet many cannot loose the weight.

So, this is good news!

‘Gordon and a multinational group of scientists sought to isolate the gut microbiome’s effect on obesity from better-known influences such as genes, diet and exercise.

They recruited four sets of identical female twins in which one twin was lean and the other obese. Through stool samples, the researchers gathered a representative collection of the bacteria, viruses and protozoans flourishing in each woman’s gut. They transplanted that microscopic zoo into a large group of mice whose intestines were essentially a blank slate.

Almost immediately, the mix of living organisms inside a mouse’s digestive tract began to resemble the one inside its human donor. Soon the mice came to resemble more and more the women whose gut microbiomes they had adopted.

Despite eating about the same amount of the same low-fat chow, mice that got transplants from an obese twin began to gain weight and lay down fat deposits. The mice that got transplants from a lean twin remained lean.’