Insights into the Roles of Gut Microbes in Obesity

Obesity is a major public health issue as it enhances the risk of suffering several chronic diseases of increasing prevalence. Obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, associated with a chronic low-grade inflammation. Gut microbes are considered to contribute to body...

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Main Authors: Yolanda Sanz, Arlette Santacruz, Giada De Palma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2008-01-01
Series:Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/829101
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author Yolanda Sanz
Arlette Santacruz
Giada De Palma
author_facet Yolanda Sanz
Arlette Santacruz
Giada De Palma
author_sort Yolanda Sanz
collection DOAJ
description Obesity is a major public health issue as it enhances the risk of suffering several chronic diseases of increasing prevalence. Obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, associated with a chronic low-grade inflammation. Gut microbes are considered to contribute to body weight regulation and related disorders by influencing metabolic and immune host functions. The gut microbiota as a whole improves the host's ability to extract and store energy from the diet leading to body weight gain, while specific commensal microbes seem to exert beneficial effects on bile salt, lipoprotein, and cholesterol metabolism. The gut microbiota and some probiotics also regulate immune functions, protecting the host form infections and chronic inflammation. In contrast, dysbiosis and endotoxaemia may be inflammatory factors responsible for developing insulin resistance and body weight gain. In the light of the link between the gut microbiota, metabolism, and immunity, the use of dietary strategies to modulate microbiota composition is likely to be effective in controlling metabolic disorders. Although so far only a few preclinical and clinical trials have demonstrated the effects of specific gut microbes and prebiotics on biological markers of these disorders, the findings indicate that advances in this field could be of value in the struggle against obesity and its associated-metabolic disorders.
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spelling doaj-art-3865983eeecd4ccf9abfddf857488f132025-08-20T03:55:11ZengWileyInterdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases1687-708X1687-70982008-01-01200810.1155/2008/829101829101Insights into the Roles of Gut Microbes in ObesityYolanda Sanz0Arlette Santacruz1Giada De Palma2Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), P.O. Box 73, Burjassot, 46100 Valencia, SpainInstitute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), P.O. Box 73, Burjassot, 46100 Valencia, SpainInstitute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), P.O. Box 73, Burjassot, 46100 Valencia, SpainObesity is a major public health issue as it enhances the risk of suffering several chronic diseases of increasing prevalence. Obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, associated with a chronic low-grade inflammation. Gut microbes are considered to contribute to body weight regulation and related disorders by influencing metabolic and immune host functions. The gut microbiota as a whole improves the host's ability to extract and store energy from the diet leading to body weight gain, while specific commensal microbes seem to exert beneficial effects on bile salt, lipoprotein, and cholesterol metabolism. The gut microbiota and some probiotics also regulate immune functions, protecting the host form infections and chronic inflammation. In contrast, dysbiosis and endotoxaemia may be inflammatory factors responsible for developing insulin resistance and body weight gain. In the light of the link between the gut microbiota, metabolism, and immunity, the use of dietary strategies to modulate microbiota composition is likely to be effective in controlling metabolic disorders. Although so far only a few preclinical and clinical trials have demonstrated the effects of specific gut microbes and prebiotics on biological markers of these disorders, the findings indicate that advances in this field could be of value in the struggle against obesity and its associated-metabolic disorders.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/829101
spellingShingle Yolanda Sanz
Arlette Santacruz
Giada De Palma
Insights into the Roles of Gut Microbes in Obesity
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases
title Insights into the Roles of Gut Microbes in Obesity
title_full Insights into the Roles of Gut Microbes in Obesity
title_fullStr Insights into the Roles of Gut Microbes in Obesity
title_full_unstemmed Insights into the Roles of Gut Microbes in Obesity
title_short Insights into the Roles of Gut Microbes in Obesity
title_sort insights into the roles of gut microbes in obesity
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/829101
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