Effects of Weight Loss on Gut Microbiota

Incidence of obesity continues to rise for several decades now. Despite the availability of the multiple weight loss programs, losing or maintaining weight remains a universal challenge. A comprehensive lifestyle modification is usually the cornerstone for achieving weight loss. A wealth of new information on gut microbial responses to diet to impact human health has introduced a new frontier in nutrition science that may help better understand inter-individual response variations to weight-loss interventions. This observational study examined the microbiota changes after weight-loss in relation to age, sex, and body-composition features in adults. A 10% reduction in body weight resulted in lower blood pressures as well as reduced total, android, and gynoid fats, indicating potential improvement in body composition. Reduction in hemoglobin-A1C, a biomarker for glucose metabolism, was only significant among those who had a higher weight-loss response to the intervention. A general association between decrease in fat mass and decrease in A1C was observed (r= 0.49, p=0.003). This association was further augmented in individuals with higher-BMI (r=0.61, p= 0.002) and higher android fats (r=0.55, p= 0.008), but absent in the corresponding low-groups. Males showed a higher overall response to weight loss than females. Microbial richness increased after weightloss (p=0.017) and beta-diversity changes associated with age, BMI, waist:hip ratio, heart rate, body fat%, and android region fat (all,