| Title |
Obesity and the gut microbiota: does up-regulating colonic fermentation protect against obesity and metabolic disease?
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Genes & Nutrition, May 2011
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s12263-011-0230-1 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Lorenza Conterno, Francesca Fava, Roberto Viola, Kieran M. Tuohy |
| Abstract |
Obesity is now considered a major public health concern globally as it predisposes to a number of chronic human diseases. Most developed countries have experienced a dramatic and significant rise in obesity since the 1980s, with obesity apparently accompanying, hand in hand, the adoption of "Western"-style diets and low-energy expenditure lifestyles around the world. Recent studies report an aberrant gut microbiota in obese subjects and that gut microbial metabolic activities, especially carbohydrate fermentation and bile acid metabolism, can impact on a number of mammalian physiological functions linked to obesity. The aim of this review is to present the evidence for a characteristic "obese-type" gut microbiota and to discuss studies linking microbial metabolic activities with mammalian regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism, thermogenesis, satiety, and chronic systemic inflammation. We focus in particular on short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced upon fiber fermentation in the colon. Although SCFA are reported to be elevated in the feces of obese individuals, they are also, in contradiction, identified as key metabolic regulators of the physiological checks and controls mammals rely upon to regulate energy metabolism. Most studies suggest that the gut microbiota differs in composition between lean and obese individuals and that diet, especially the high-fat low-fiber Western-style diet, dramatically impacts on the gut microbiota. There is currently no consensus as to whether the gut microbiota plays a causative role in obesity or is modulated in response to the obese state itself or the diet in obesity. Further studies, especially on the regulatory role of SCFA in human energy homeostasis, are needed to clarify the physiological consequences of an "obese-style" microbiota and any putative dietary modulation of associated disease risk. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 4 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| France | 1 | 25% |
| Canada | 1 | 25% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 25% |
| Unknown | 1 | 25% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 3 | 75% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 25% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 413 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 5 | 1% |
| Israel | 2 | <1% |
| United Kingdom | 2 | <1% |
| France | 1 | <1% |
| Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
| Canada | 1 | <1% |
| Malaysia | 1 | <1% |
| Japan | 1 | <1% |
| Spain | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 398 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 72 | 17% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 65 | 16% |
| Student > Bachelor | 57 | 14% |
| Student > Master | 53 | 13% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 25 | 6% |
| Other | 80 | 19% |
| Unknown | 61 | 15% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 149 | 36% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 70 | 17% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 42 | 10% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 19 | 5% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 15 | 4% |
| Other | 49 | 12% |
| Unknown | 69 | 17% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 16. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 06 February 2024.
All research outputs
#2,033,502
of 23,578,918 outputs
Outputs from Genes & Nutrition
#41
of 398 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#9,023
of 111,310 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Genes & Nutrition
#4
of 15 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,578,918 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 91st percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 398 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.3. This one has done well, scoring higher than 89% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 15 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 73% of its contemporaries.