Diabetes Health In the News Podcast: Obese Kids Have Different Bacteria in Their Gut
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Click here to listen to today’s Diabetes Health in the News Podcast!
A new study has found that obese kids and teens have different types of bacteria living within their digestive tracts than their healthy-weight peers. Researchers believe that the finding could create a way to target these specific bacteria to help treat or prevent early onset obesity.
In this study, the weight and gut bacteria of 84 people ages 7-20 were examined. Of those young people, 35 were severely obese, 27 were obese, 7 were overweight, and 15 were a normal weight. All participants had MRI’s and blood samples completed for testing purposes.
The authors of the study found that eight gut bacteria groups were linked to body fat amounts. Four of these groups thrived more in the participants who were obese. These young people also had higher short chain fatty acid levels, which were linked to fat production within the liver.
These findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism on September 20, 2016.
