Characterization of the Gut Microbial Community of Obese Patients Following a Weight-Loss Intervention Using Whole Metagenome Shotgun Sequencing

摘要

Background/ObjectivesCross-sectional studies suggested that obesity is promoted by the gut microbiota. However, longitudinal data on taxonomic and functional changes in the gut microbiota of obese patients are scarce. The aim of this work is to study microbiota changes in the course of weight loss therapy and the following year in obese individuals with or without co-morbidities, and to asses a possible predictive value of the gut microbiota with regard to weight loss maintenance.