Does the type of bacteria in our gut make us obese?

This is an interesting study about gut bacteria, intestinal gas and obesity – but I don’t exactly agree with conclusions.

The authors conclude that people become obese because they have higher amounts of hydrogen and methane (if we could only stop the hydrogen and methane!). But to me the opposite seems more likely. People struggling with obesity eat more (especially the carb types we talk about on this site), suffer more malabsorption and produce more of these gasses because they have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). That’s why obesity is linked to GERD which is linked to SIBO.

About the Author: Norm Robillard

Norm Robillard received his Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst studying Bacillus anthracis and other Bacillus species. His post-doctoral training at Tufts University focused on antibiotic resistance and gene transfer between the gut microbes Bacteroides fragilis and E. coli. During his career in pharma / biotech, Dr. Robillard studied the genetics of antibiotic resistance, septic shock, viral illnesses and antimicrobial and antibody-based therapies prior to founding the Digestive Health Institute. Dr. Robillard is the creator of the Fast Tract Diet, author of the Fast Tract Digestion book series and publisher of the Fast Tract Diet mobile app. He was the first to propose excess intestinal fermentation as the underlying cause of acid reflux and explained the connection between intragastric pressure from gas-producing bacteria in our intestines, nutritional malabsorption and the symptoms of acid reflux. His latest book series, Fast Tract Digestion provides a safe and effective dietary tool and behavioral strategy as an alternative to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), H2 blockers, IBS drugs or antibiotics for heartburn, acid reflux, GERD, laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPR), IBS and other SIBO related conditions.

One Comment

Danny Albers March 28, 2013 at 12:17 pmLog in to Reply

Amazing how often this happens in science. There is no thought given by the authors of the study to which direction flows cause and affect or even other confounders as you pointed out, such as presence of the specific starches as percentage of the diet, that produce those gases.