According to a new research in mice, bacteria in the intestines play a key role in weight gain. The study found that ‘a high-fat, high-sugar diet alters the composition of bacteria in the gut, making it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it.’ According to the study featured in the new journal Science Translational Medicine, ‘the changeover can happen in as little as 24 hours.’

Human beings ‘need such bacteria to help convert otherwise indigestible foods into digestible form.’ 90 percent of such bacteria ‘fall into two major divisions, or phyla: the Firmicutes and the Bacteroidetes. Previous research had shown that obese mice had higher levels of Firmicutes, and lean ones had more Bacteroidetes.’ Firmicutes are said to be ‘more efficient at digesting food that the body can’t.’

The study states that ‘after the bacteria were transplanted from a lean human donor, the colonies in the mice had a high proportion of Bacteroidetes and a low proportion of Firmicutes. But within 24 hours after the mice were switched to a high-sugar, high-fat diet, the proportions of the two phyla were reversed.’

This means that ‘animals with a higher proportion of Firmicutes convert a higher proportion of food into calories that can be absorbed by the body, making it easier to gain weight.’

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Via Los Angeles Times