Abstract
Aims
In recent years, gut microbiota have gained a growing interest as an environmental
factor that may affect the predisposition toward adiposity. In this review, we describe
and discuss the research that has focused on the involvement of gut microbiota in
human obesity. We also summarize the current knowledge concerning the health effects
of the composition of gut microbiota, acquired using the most recent methodological
approaches, and the potential influence of gut microbiota on adiposity, as revealed
by animal studies.
Data synthesis
Original research studies that were published in English or French until December
2011 were selected through a computer-assisted literature search. The studies conducted
to date show that there are differences in the gut microbiota between obese and normal-weight
experimental animals. There is also evidence that a high-fat diet may induce changes
in gut microbiota in animal models regardless of the presence of obesity. In humans,
obesity has been associated with reduced bacterial diversity and an altered representation
of bacterial species, but the identified differences are not homogeneous among the
studies.
Conclusions
The question remains as to whether changes in the intestinal microbial community are
one of the environmental causes of overweight and obesity or if they are a consequence
of obesity, specifically of the unbalanced diet that often accompanies the development
of excess weight gain. In the future, larger studies on the potential role of intestinal
microbiota in human obesity should be conducted at the species level using standardized
analytical techniques and taking all of the possible confounding variables into account.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 12, 2012
Accepted:
September 3,
2012
Received in revised form:
August 31,
2012
Received:
April 3,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
