Gut Microbiomes Alterations in Obesity: A Review of Pathophysiological Mechanism and Therapeutic Interventions

Abstract

The bacterial cells in the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) outweigh the host cells by a factor of ten, and the genes encoded by the bacteria in the GIT outnumber their host genes by more than a hundredfold. The gut microbiome refers to the bacteria associated with the human digestive tract. The human gut microbiome and its role in health and disease have been extensively studied, with findings indicating participation in human metabolism, nutrition, physiology, and immunological function. Imbalances in the normal gut microbiota have been related to gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, type 2 diabetes, and atopy. In the first part of this review, we evaluate our evolving knowledge of the composition, pathophysiological mechanism, and Regulation of Appetite, and the ways in which the microbial community is perturbed in dysbiotic disease states; the second part of this review covers the role of interventions that have been shown to modulate and stabilize the gut microbiota, as well as restore it to its healthy composition from the dysbiotic states seen in IBS, IBD, obesity, type 2 diabetes.