Why are you more prone to weight gain? New research suggests that part of the answer could lie in your gut’s microbial composition.

Study Summary 

This new research, which relied on data from 85 middle aged, overweight individuals found that: 

• Those who had a faster transit time extracted more energy from their diet due to microbial composition. 
• Those who extracted more energy from their diet were 10% heavier than those who extracted less energy from their food. 

The researchers were confident that these findings suggest a causal link between energy extraction from food and specific populations of gut bacteria. 

The Hearty Take

There is a need for more research to understand which bacteria promote weight gain and if the weight gain caused by these bacteria is significant. Imagine a world in which you could adhere to a health protocol to manipulate your gut bacteria for better weight control.