According to recent research from the University of Copenhagen, some Danes may have a different makeup of gut microorganisms than other Danes, which allows them to, on average, absorb more energy from meals. The study contributes to our knowledge of why some people, while eating the same amount of food, gain more weight than others.
As unfair as it is, some of us appear to gain weight just by taking a glance at a plate of holiday cookies, while others may chow down without gaining a gram. The makeup of our gut microorganisms may play a role in the explanation. According to recently performed research, at the Division of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports at the University of Copenhagen.
To determine how well the gut microorganisms of 85 Danes take energy from food, researchers looked at the remaining energy in their excrement. They simultaneously mapped each participant's individual gut microbial composition.
According to the findings, almost 40% of the participants belong to a group that, on average, derives more energy from food than the other 60%. The researchers also noticed that people who derived the greatest energy from food typically weighed nine kg more on average.
We may have discovered the answer to why some individuals acquire more weight than others, despite eating the same amount of food or in any other way. The Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports at the University of Copenhagen's Associate Professor Henrik Roger believes that more research has to be done on this.
Could raise the danger of obesity
The findings suggest that being overweight may not only be related to one's diet and exercise habits. It might also be related to how a person's gut microorganisms are made up.
In accordance with the makeup of their gut microorganisms, the participants were split into three groups. Forty percent of the subjects had the so-called B-type composition, which is better at removing nutrients from meals and is dominated by Bactericides bacteria.
The study has led the researchers to believe that some people may be at a disadvantage due to gut bacteria that are excessively efficient at obtaining energy. Because of this efficiency, the same amount of food may provide the human host with more calories.
"The fact that our gut bacteria are excellent at obtaining energy from food is essentially a good thing since the bacteria's metabolism of the food produces more energy in the form of, for instance, short-chain fatty acids, which are molecules that our body may use as fuel for energy. The extra energy provided by the intestinal bacteria, however, may eventually raise the risk of obesity if we consume more than we burn, Henrik Roger explains.
In the gut, rapid movement surprised
Before the body is able to fully absorb the nutrients from the food we eat, it travels through the mouth, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine, and lastly the rectum.
The duration of this voyage was also investigated for each participant, who shared comparable dietary habits. Here, the researchers proposed that those with lengthy intestinal transit periods would be those who derived the greatest nutritional benefit from their diet. But the research revealed the complete reverse.
"We hypothesized that a prolonged gastric transit time would enable the extraction of additional energy. However, in this instance, we observe that people with the gut bacteria of type B that produce the greatest amounts of energy also had the fastest passage.
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