Energy balance
Gut microbiota composition influences energy harvest and fat storage, with obese individuals often exhibiting higher abundances of Firmicutes and methanogens that enhance short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production and energy extraction from indigestible carbohydrates.
Your gut bacteria actively help you harvest energy from food. While you cannot directly 'eat' specific bacteria to lose weight, your diet rapidly shapes your microbiome. Shifting towards a diet rich in diverse fibers (plant polysaccharides) can alter your microbial community to potentially reduce the efficiency of energy harvest compared to a Western diet high in fat and sugar. Focus on dietary diversity to support a healthy microbiome.
The preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that germ-free mice are protected against obesity and that the transfer of gut microbes from conventionally raised animals to germ-free animals results in dramatic increases in body fat content and insulin resistance. Moreover, the composition of the gut microbiota has been shown to differ between lean and obese humans and mice... Our group and others have verified the enrichment of H2-oxidizing methanogens in obese compared with normal-weight individuals.
Why this rating
The paper is a review citing multiple observational and animal studies; human data is mixed regarding specific phyla ratios (Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes), though SCFA mechanisms are well-supported.
Source
Effects of Gut Microbes on Nutrient Absorption and Energy Regulation
Rosa Krajmalnik‐Brown et al. · Nutrition in Clinical Practice · 2012
DOI 10.1177/0884533611436116
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