After taking antibiotics for, what seemed forever, I have gained 50 pounds since my pre-cancer days.
Flora and thyroid... a nasty combo.
Gotta go get some ice cream now-
jc
Weight gain in ex-smokers likely caused by changes in intestinal bacteria, not increased appetite
David Rockne Corrigan | 13/08/29 | Last Updated: 13/08/29 5:03 PM ET
More from David Rockne Corrigan | @rocknecorrigan
More from David Rockne Corrigan | @rocknecorrigan
Grant Black/Calgary HeraldSwiss researchers have found that changes to intestinal bacteria, not increases in calorie intake, are to blame for weight gains in people who quit smoking.
A question for all of the on-again, off-again smokers out there: Have you noticed that you gain weight every time you quit smoking?
If the answer is yes, as it is for many — 80% of people who quit smoking put on an average of 15 pounds — you may be surprised to learn that it has little to do with your calorie intake.
Researchers in Switzerland have found that weight gains after quitting smoking are due to changes in the composition of intestinal flora, and not due to increased calorie intake.
They found that weight increases occur even if the calorie intake levels remain the same or even decrease compared to levels before ditching the cigarettes.
Researchers attributed the weight gains to changes in the bacterial diversity of the intestine.
For the study, a group of 20 people were asked to give stool samples. The group included five smokers, five non-smokers, and 10 people who quit smoking one week into the study.
Weight increases occur even if the calorie intake levels remain the same or even decrease compared to levels before ditching the cigarettes
While bacterial diversity underwent little change in the smokers and non-smokers, there were lots of shifts in the intestines of those who quit smoking.
Test subjects who quit smoking gained an average of 4.8 pounds over the course of the nine-week study, even though their eating a drinking habits remained the same (for the most part — towards the end of the study, these participants drank more alcohol than they did before they quit smoking).
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesBelgian scientists have discovered a link between intestinal flora and complications related to obesity.
Another recent study concerning the diversity of intestinal flora has shown that there is also a link between that diversity and a susceptibility to medical conditions and complications related to obesity.
The research shows that people with fewer bacterial species in their intestines are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
“This is an amazing result with possibly enormous implications for the treatment and even prevention of the greatest public health issue of our time. But we are not there yet, now we need studies in which we can monitor people for a longer period,” said Jeroen Raes of the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology in Belgium.
Obesity is a medical concern that has grown to become an epidemic in many parts of the world. It is expected that obesity will affect more than 700 million people by 2015.
