My Overweight Child: Researchers Find Possible Link Between Bacteria, Obesity

Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Friday, November 20, 2009

Researchers Find Possible Link Between Bacteria, Obesity

Researchers with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that modern food can cause almost instantaneous changes in bacteria in the guts of mice. Dr. Jeffrey Gordon and his colleagues believe that changes in gut bacteria may explain the obesity epidemic.

“When we switched these humanized animals from a low fat diet to a junk food diet high in fat with lots of simple sugars, the structure of the microbial community changed dramatically and very rapidly," Dr. Gordon wrote.

After their gut bacteria changed, the mice became obese on the westernized diets.

The study appeared in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Labels: causes of childhood obesity