Some guts are better than others at harvestin

Some Danes have a gut microbial composition that, on average, extracts more energy from food than their fellow Danes, according to new research from the University of Copenhagen. This study is a step towards understanding why some people gain more weight than others, even though they eat the same foods.

Unfairly, some people seem to gain weight just by looking at a plate of Christmas cookies, while others give up and munch on it without gaining a single gram. Part of the explanation may be related to the composition of our gut microbiota.

Researchers examined residual energy in the faeces of 85 Danes to estimate how effective gut microbes are in extracting energy from food. Together, they mapped the gut microbial composition of each participant.

Results show that about 40% of participants belong to the group that extracts more energy from food on average compared to the other 60%. The researchers also observed that the person who extracted the most energy from food was, on average, 10 percent heavier, gaining an extra 9 kilograms.

Henrik Roager, associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, said: Research in nutrition, exercise and sports.

May increase risk of obesity

The results indicate that being overweight may not only be associated with a healthy diet and physical activity. .

Participants were divided into three groups based on their gut microbial composition.The so-called B-type composition (governed by bacteroides bacteria) were more effective at extracting nutrients from food, observed in 40% of participants.

Following this study, researchers suspect that some parts of the population may be at a disadvantage because they have gut bacteria that are a little too effective at extracting energy. The effect may result in more calories being available to the human host from the same amount of food.

“The fact that our gut bacteria are good at extracting energy from food is basically a good thing. However, if we consume more than we consume, the excess energy provided by our gut bacteria will be lost over time. may increase the risk of obesity.

Intestinal surprise short transit time

From the mouth to the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine, and finally the rectum, the food we eat passes through several stations along the way, taking up to 12 hours before the body extracts all the food’s nutrients. It takes 36 hours to travel from .

The researchers also examined the length of this journey for each participant who had similar eating patterns. However, this study found the exact opposite.

“We thought that a longer digestive transit time would extract more energy. We also knew that it would pass, which made us think,” says Henrik Roager.

Confirms previous studies in mice

New studies in humans confirm previous studies in mice. In these studies, germ-free mice that received gut microbes from obese donors were more sensitive than mice that received gut microbiota from lean donors, even though they were fed the same diet. It turns out that I gained a lot of weight.

Still, the researchers proposed that the difference in weight gain could be due to the fact that the gut bacteria in obese people extract energy from food more efficiently. It’s a theory now confirmed by new research from the Department of Exercise and Sports.

“It is very interesting that the group of people with less energy left in their stools weighs more on average. However, this study does not provide evidence that the two factors are directly related. We hope to investigate this further in the future,” says Henrik Roager.

About gut bacteria:

• Everyone has a unique composition of gut bacteria shaped by their genetics, environment, lifestyle and diet.
• The collection of intestinal bacteria, called the gut microbiome, is like the entire galaxy in our gut, a staggering 100 billion per gram of stool.
• Gut bacteria in the colon help break down the parts of food that our body’s digestive enzymes can’t break down, such as dietary fiber.
• Humans can be divided into three groups based on the presence and abundance of three major groups of bacteria that most people have: type B (bacteroides), R type (Ruminococcaceae) and P-type (Prevotella).

About research

• The energy content of stool specimens from 85 overweight Danish women and men was examined.
• Participants were men and women between the ages of 22 and 66.
• 40% of the participants fell into a special group characterized by low intestinal bacterial diversity and short transit times of food through the gastrointestinal tract.
• This group was also found to have less residual energy in their stools compared to the other two groups. This could not be explained by habitual dietary differences.
• The researchers also observed that the group with less energy in their stool weighed more than the other groups.

contact:

henrik roger

Associate Professor

Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports

University of Copenhagen

[email protected]

+45 35 32 49 28

+45 25 48 06 99

michael scoff jensen

Journalist and team coordinator

Faculty of Science

University of Copenhagen

+45 93 56 58 97

[email protected]