A study led by researchers from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) reveals a direct correlation between prolonged treatment with antibiotics and weight gain. The work, published in the journal Gut Microbes, also shows a link between the metabolic activity of intestinal bacteria with body mass index, fasting blood glucose and insulin resistance. The intestine is inhabited by billions of bacteria that interact with each other, known as the microbiota or intestinal flora, which can provide activities and molecules that we could not acquire by ourselves and that are essential for the correct development of human beings.
Researchers have analyzed for the first time the metabolic activity of enzymes of intestinal bacteria present in stool samples of obese, thin people and treated or not with antibiotics. For Ester Hernández, co-author of the work shows that obese people or people with a high body mass index and those treated with antibiotics have a similar metabolic behavior, which would have consequences on the ability to metabolize sugars in the diet. “The study suggests that the development of obesity and prolonged treatment with antibiotics modifies the intestinal flora in such a way that its enzymes become more active, which favors the rapid and unbalanced assimilation of carbohydrates and, in turn, the development of obesity, eating disorders and, ultimately, diabetes ”, details Ferrer.
The study lays the foundation for future research that may ultimately enable the design of personalized diets based on the potential digestibility of dietary polysaccharides based on intestinal activity profiles to regulate weight gain. Thus, it would be possible, in particular, to define the enzymotypes or the set of intestinal enzymes of each person and design prebiotics that guarantee a healthy intestinal microbiota. “In addition, these cocktails could become part of the usual therapeutic guides in antibiotic treatments in order to minimize their collateral effects. Only through a global and detailed analysis of different antibiotics and people of different geographical origin, age or health status can personalized therapies and surgical interventions be developed ”, point out the researchers.
