Would it be possible to tackle the obesity epidemic just with bacteria?!

Overweight and obesity comprise another epidemic of our century. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the number of people with diabetes rose from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. This pathology results in general body inflammation that causes numerous side effects amid which are cancer, Alzheimer’s, or heart disease.

Would it be possible to tackle this obesity epidemic just with bacteria?!

“We have observed that diabetes Type 2/obese patients have more succinate-producing bacteria than healthy people. This compound passes into the blood and can contribute to the complications caused by obesity and diabetes,” explains Dr. Isabel Huber, technology transfer and innovation manager of the DIAMET research group (IISPV). In her interview with the prestigious journal La Vanguardia Dr. Huber shares recent results on the development of a new probiotic (@CaixaCiencia project on microbiome and metabolism regulation), rich in bacteria, that could control the succinate level in the body thus improving the conditions of obesity/diabetes patients.

Full interview in Spanish is available through the following link: https://www.lavanguardia.com/ciencia/20200706/482061027505/preguntas-big-vang-obesidad-bacteria-microbiota-probiotico.html

This research project has been funded by the “La Caixa” Foundation.