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Microbiome Changes Drive the Dieting Yo-Yo Effect, Study Finds (smh.com.au)

Posted by BeauHD on from the wind-and-unwind dept.

wheelbarrio writes: We've known for a long time that diet-induced weight loss is rarely permanent but until now what has been a frustration for dieters has also been largely a mystery to scientists. A paper published today in the prestigious journal Nature presents good evidence that your gut microbiome may be to blame. Studying mice fed cycles of high-fat and normal diets, the authors found that the particular bacterial population that thrives in the high-fat regime persists in the gut even once the mice have returned to normal weight and normal metabolic function after a dieting cycle. This leaves them more susceptible to weight gain than control mice who were never overweight, when both populations are exposed to a cycle of high-fat diet. The details are fascinating, including the suggestion that dietary flavonoid supplementation might mitigate the effect. My guess is that this may end up being one of the most cited papers of the year, if not the decade.

2 of 256 comments (clear)

  1. Re:eating less by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    So the mice gained weight when they were fed a crap diet. And, quelle surprise, when human porkers give up their short-lived attempts to stick to a Mediterranean diet and shove their noses back in the McDonald's trough, they pile back on the pounds.

    Neither article says that the mice had a calorie-controlled diet. It seem far more likely that the gut microbiome changes have an impact on appetite.

    You obviously didn't read the article you quoted.

    "To test whether it was due to the microbiome, the researchers transferred the altered microbiomes into mice that had not previously been exposed to yo-yo diets - and here too they found unusually rapid and excessive weight gain when the mice were given high-fat foods."

    The amount of weight gained on a given diet depended on the gut biome of the mouse more than the calorific content of their diet.

  2. Re: eating less by sonamchauhan · · Score: 3, Informative

    Troll was rated Troll because he trolled (yes, he touched a nerve - but that's part of trolling).

    The underlying premise of the article is your gut is an extension of your neural and hormonal systems. Change its ecosystem's chemistry, and you'd think better and eat better. Have more fruit and vegetables, and your health will improve in a non-linear fashion - more than can be explained by better nutrition alone.