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Diets Intestinal bacteria Trigger of the yo-yo effect
Many people have problems with their weight. For this reason, sufferers try to lose weight with all sorts of diets. Often, however, they can not maintain their healthy body weight and quickly recover. Researchers have now found out that the so-called yo-yo effect after dieting is also related to our intestinal bacteria.
The scientists from the Weizmann Institute in Israel found in their recent research that certain intestinal bacteria can be associated with frequent weight gain after diets. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Nature".
Many people regain weight quickly after dieting. This effect seems to be due to our intestinal bacteria. (Image: bmf-foto.de/fotolia.com) Remember intestinal bacteria to our previous weight?
Are you one of those people who gain weight quickly after dieting? If so, this could be related to the bacteria in your gut. "These seem to retain a kind of memory of the past weight," say the experts.
Jo-Jo effect is triggered by long-term changes in the intestinal bacteria
The current study was performed on mice. "The results suggest that the so-called yo-yo effect is not just a matter of recurring unhealthy eating habits," the researchers write. Rather, this effect appears to be associated with long-term changes in gut bacteria, which are usually caused by obesity.
Changes in the intestine last extremely long
Obesity-induced changes in intestinal microbiomas last about five times as long as the actual time of the diet. This prompted the mice to regain their weight quickly after the end of the "diet," say the scientists. If the results can be transferred to humans, this would lead to more evidence-based weight loss methods, the experts speculate. The observed effect may explain why some people have such problems controlling their weight after dieting, says author Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute.
Study on mice studied impact of diet conversion
In the study, obese mice were switched from a high-fat diet to a balanced diet. These animals were no longer distinguishable from a control group of mice by diet change in weight and a number of metabolic factors (such as blood sugar levels), say the medical profession.
Obese mice retain the differences in their intestinal bacteria
The researchers found that previously obese mice retained differences in their intestinal bacteria, which increase the weight gain of the animals through the consumption of high-fat food. When bacteria from the obese group were inserted into the intestines of control mice, they also gained weight faster.
Detected effect could be a kind of psychological buffer
The observed effect could act as a buffer against weight loss in times of food shortage, the researchers explain. However, in the case of obesity, this mechanism could lead to a faster weight gain.
Changes in intestinal bacteria could take years in humans
In the mice, the microbiome changed only slowly. The bacteria needed a period of six months to re-establish a normal microbiome as in the control group. This time span is about a quarter of the life of a mouse in captivity, explain the scientists. The physicians predicted that a comparable period of time could be between months and years for humans. This can be a really sobering thought for sufferers, says author Elinav.
If a successful change in the microbiota requires antibiotics?
If the human microbiome undergoes similar changes as that of mice, the target group could be helped. Once the changes in the microbiome are reversed, this may help to maintain the healthy body weight achieved after dieting, say the experts. However, the consumption of some probiotic yoghurts is not enough. The composition of intestinal bacteria is difficult to change. The treatment would eventually require antibiotics to eradicate the existing bacterial population, the researchers explain.
Intestinal bacteria from sufferers seem to convert more energy into fat
The rate of weight gain can be predicted based on the composition of the microbiome of mice, say the authors. The data suggest that a change in metabolism causes the intestinal bacteria to convert the existing bacteria more energy into fat, the authors explain.
People with long-term obesity regain 80 percent after a diet
Other research has already suggested that people with long-term obesity who lose weight through a diet regain weight in 80 percent of cases within 12 months. (As)