Abstract
Nowadays, obesity is one of the most prevalent human health problems. Research from the last 30 years has clarified the role of the imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, unhealthy lifestyle, and genetic variability in the development of obesity. More recently, the composition and metabolic functions of gut microbiota have been proposed as being able to affect obesity development. Here, we will report the current knowledge on the definition, composition, and functions of intestinal microbiota. We have performed an extensive review of the literature, searching for the following keywords: metabolism, gut microbiota, dysbiosis, obesity. There is evidence for the association between gut bacteria and obesity both in infancy and in adults. There are several genetic, metabolic, and inflammatory pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the interplay between gut microbes and obesity. Microbial changes in the human gut can be considered a factor involved in obesity development in humans. The modulation of the bacterial strains in the digestive tract can help to reshape the metabolic profile in the human obese host as suggested by several data from animal and human studies. Thus, a deep revision of the evidence pertaining to the use probiotics, prebiotics, and antibiotics in obese patients is conceivable
Highlights
Changes in dietary habits and the increased availability of high-caloric foods have made overweightness and obesity some of the most serious health issues of our era
A systematic literature research was conducted using a number of relevant keywords (MeSH: metabolism, gut microbiota, dysbiosis, obesity, probiotics)
At birth, the human gut is essentially free from bacteria, but, immediately after delivery, the intestine begins to be populated by a series of microorganisms—this process is influenced by exogenous and endogenous factors [22]
Summary
Changes in dietary habits and the increased availability of high-caloric foods have made overweightness and obesity some of the most serious health issues of our era. Several works have proven a significant genetic role in determining the obesity risk [2,3,4]. Changes in bacterial strains, hosted in the human intestine, were proposed to have a causative role in obesity [3,5,6]. The present work aims to provide a synthetic overview of the state of the art in terms of development, distribution and composition of the gut microbiota. Another aim of the review is the association between intestinal microbiota and obesity, focusing on different subgroup populations. We will highlight some shreds of evidence sustaining the hypothesis that gut microbes may contribute to the development of obesity and other associated chronic metabolic conditions
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