Microbiota and Obesity: Where Are We Now?

Abstract

Genetic and environmental factors are underlying causes of obesity and other metabolic diseases, so it is therefore difficult to find suitable and effective medical treatments. However, without a doubt, the gut microbiota—and also the bacteria present in the oral cavity—act as key factors in the development of these pathologies, yet the mechanisms have not been fully described. Certainly, a more detailed knowledge of the structure of the microbiota—composition, intra- and inter-species relationships, metabolic functions—could be of great help in counteracting the onset of obesity. Identifying key bacterial species will allow us to create a database of “healthy” bacteria, making it possible to manipulate the bacterial community according to metabolic and clinical needs. Targeting gut microbiota in clinical care as treatment for obesity and health-related complications—even just for weight loss has become a real possibility. In this topical review we provide an overview of the role of the microbiota on host energy homeostasis and obesity-related metabolic diseases, therefore addressing the therapeutic potential of novel and existing strategies (impact of nutrition/dietary modulation, and fecal microbiota transplantation) in the treatment of metabolic disease.

Is Probiotic Supplementation Useful for the Management of Body Weight and Other Anthropometric Measures in Adults Affected by Overweight and Obesity with Metabolic Related Diseases? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The present review focuses on the effectiveness of the probiotics in the reduction of body weight in overweight and obese subjects with metabolic diseases—previous reviews done by Aoun, Darwish and Hamod 2020 [ 23 ], and by Ballini et al, 2020 [ 24 ] indicated that probiotics modify the secretion of hormones, neurotransmitters, and inflammatory factors, thus preventing food intake triggers that lead to weight gain. The novelty of this review as compared to others is that the outcomes are related to the changes of anthropometric measures (weight, body mass Index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC) after administration of various probiotics in overweight or obese subjects with metabolic diseases.…”

Biodiversity of Gut Microbiota: Impact of Various Host and Environmental Factors

“…They have also been linked to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases like hypertension [ 8 , 9 ], along with enhanced predisposition towards various viral and bacterial infections. In various other studies, these “healthy” microbiota have been associated with the treatment of various metabolic diseases like obesity [ 10 , 11 ], diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) [ 12 ]. The emerging role of these microbiota has also been reported as a mitigation strategy against various respiratory viral infections [ 13 ] including COVID-19 [ 14 , 15 ].…”

Evidence of a hormonal reshuffle in the cecal metabolome fingerprint of a strain of rats resistant to decompression sickness

“…Interestingly, the composition of the gut microbiota is strongly impacted by the genetic background of the animal strain, perhaps even more than by maternal inoculation or exposure to a different exogenous microbiota 11 . While many studies now emphasized the similarities of the gut microbiota between rats and humans 12 – 14 , It has recently been demonstrated that the digestive tract, through the contribution of the intestinal microbiota, could also have an influence on the occurrence of DCS 15 – 20 . The present study is particularly devoted to the selection of a fecal metabolome operated upon generation of rat strains resistant to DCS.…”