Obesity and gut flora: Link revealed?

摘要

The spreading epidemic of obesity is engulfing not just industrialized countries but developing nations as well. It is also associated with other disorders like type II diabetes, cardiovascular pathology, hypertension and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. India is no exception to this and weight gain and obesity are beginning to pose a growing threat to the health of citizens. The reasons attributed to this are industrialization, urbanization, increased living standards, change of diet and life style. But in their recent publication, Backhed et al. make a startling revelation that our gut microbes are responsible for fat deposition in our body.