Obesity is linked to a number of conditions and diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis.
The gut microbiota is a complex system of organisms, composed of various microbial species that interact with our biology and organs and modulate our physiological functions.
The evidence base for interventional approaches, which have been shown to affect the composition and function of the intestinal microbiome, includes dietary strategies, oral probiotic/ prebiotic/synbiotic treatment, fecal microbiota transplantation, and bariatric surgery.
Targeting the gut microbiota composition can be a potential treatment for obesity.
Obesity is a major health issue linked to various physiological and mental disorders, including diabetes, stroke, and depression.
The gut microbiota has been shown to interact with a variety of organs, including the brain.
Intestinal microbiota and their metabolites may directly stimulate the brain via vagal stimulation or indirectly via immune-neuroendocrine mechanisms, and they can regulate metabolism, adiposity, homeostasis, and energy balance, as well as central appetite and food reward signaling, all of which play important roles in obesity.
Bidirectional signaling within the gut-brain axis (GBA) in the pathophysiology of obesity, mediated by metabolic, endocrine, neural, and immune system mechanisms, is supported by research.
The gut-brain axis (GBA), a bidirectional link between the gut microbiota and the brain, influences physiological function and behavior via three distinct pathways. The enteric nervous system (ENS) and the vagus nerve are the main components of the neural pathway.
However, the endocrine pathway affects the neuroendocrine system of the brain, particularly the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and immunological pathway.
Several changes in the gut microbiome can lead to obesity by modulating the host's metabolic pathways and eating habits via GBA.
Therefore, novel therapies targeting the gut microbiome, i.e., supplementation with probiotics and prebiotics, can be a potential treatment for obesity.
The full study can be found in the Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis in May 2022.
The effect of the gut microbiome on physiological function and body weight is supported by this study.
According to the findings, the gut microbiota is becoming a target for new anti-obesity therapies.