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Clinical Trial
. 2006 Dec 21;444(7122):1022-3.
doi: 10.1038/4441022a.

Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity

Ruth E Ley  1 , Peter J Turnbaugh, Samuel Klein, Jeffrey I Gordon
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity

Ruth E Ley et al. Nature. .

Abstract

Two groups of beneficial bacteria are dominant in the human gut, the Bacteroidetes and the Firmicutes. Here we show that the relative proportion of Bacteroidetes is decreased in obese people by comparison with lean people, and that this proportion increases with weight loss on two types of low-calorie diet. Our findings indicate that obesity has a microbial component, which might have potential therapeutic implications.

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Comment in

  • Physiology: obesity and gut flora.
    Bajzer M, Seeley RJ. Bajzer M, et al. Nature. 2006 Dec 21;444(7122):1009-10. doi: 10.1038/4441009a. Nature. 2006. PMID: 17183300 No abstract available.

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