Description

This is a report of some new research that suggests that the link between obesity and the proportions of Bacteroide and Firmicute bacteria in the gut may not be correct. Professor Jeffrey Gordon was the first to report this link.

There is always contradictory research in any field, so I would take neither Professor Gordon’s conclusion - nor this new research from Professor Harry Flint of the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health - as definitive.

However, for the University of Aberdeen to report his research under the title “No Link Between Gut Bugs and Obesity, say Aberdeen Scientists” is going a little bit too far. The research does not prove that at all.

What Prof Flint is actually claiming is:
“The results of our study show that the proportions of Bacteroides and Firmicutes - that together comprise more than 80% of the total bacteria in the large intestine - have no significant function in determining human obesity.”

Proportions are interesting, but there are an awful lot of unstudied gut bacteria, even within the Bacteroides and Firmicutes groups. Other research is looking at individual bacteria and bacteria combinations rather than block groups.

Particular gut bacteria (and fungi, yeasts and viruses) have very individual actions and properties, so research into the relative proportions of wide bacterial groupings is not likely to be a key tool for determining whether there is or is not a link between gut inhabitants and obesity.