There should be no shock to find out just how vitally important having the correct balance of bacteria in our gut is. The list of conditions that probioitics have shown an effect on is quite a long one. But this study really looks from a different angle.
The link between bacteria in our gut and obesity is not a newly studied one. The links between dysbiosis (unhealthy composition of bacteria in our gut) and obesity seems to strengthen with each study. This particular study goes even further.
Keep in mind that this is a rat study. The researchers performed a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass on one group and looked at what happened to the rats. The list is quite long.
First, there was a definate, strong change in the bacteria of the gut. What this means, we don’t know just yet, but it strongly suggests that there are ties between obesity, bariatric sugery and the bacteria in our gut. Maybe the changes associated with the surgery, which lead to weight loss, led to the bacterial change. But does the bacterial change lead to the weight loss? We don’t have the answer yet, but since it is well established that the metabolic changes that occur after bariatric surgery occur long before weight loss, this may be a logical progression.
It also raises the important question about whether our heavy reliance on both C-sections and antibiotics may not be contributing to the obesity epidemic. Certainly there are other factors, but we can’t ignore the importance of a healthy gut flora.