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Battling the holiday bulge — with bacteria?

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Thursday, December 21, 2006 | 04:18 PM ET

By Peter Hadzipetros

Those clothes of yours feeling a little tighter these days as you just can't resist the urge to nibble on those holiday goodies that someone always seems to leave lying around? Maybe you're already looking around for the best deals on fitness club memberships — so you can start working off those extra pounds at the gym on Jan. 2.

If you want to avoid the weight gain, you should've started working on burning off those extra calories already. A couple of preventative walks could've earned you a few guilt-free shortbread cookies.

It takes substantially more to work off your basic Christmas dinner — even a modest feast can add up to 4,000 calories or more pretty quickly. The average 155-pound person would have to walk 55 kilometres to work that off.

But don't despair. Seems all this talk about packing on the pounds over the holidays is a little overblown. Most people don't put on nearly as much weight as they think they do — maybe a pound or so.

Take that extra 2006 holiday pound and introduce it to another one in 2007 and yet another for each of the next 20 years and we're getting into some substantial regional expansion — for most people.

But do you ever notice that no matter how much some people eat, they just don't seem to put on much weight, yet others who eat moderately get bigger and bigger?

There's new research that suggests it may not be what you eat that makes you fat, but what eats what you eat.

According to two studies in the journal Nature obese mice — and people — had more of one type of bacteria and less of another kind. They both had a lower percentage of a family of bacteria called Bacteroidetes and more of a type of bacteria called Firmicutes. But the researchers aren't quite sure if the Firmicutes make people fat or if people who are obese grow more of that type of bacteria.

The researchers found that when lean mice with clean guts were given lots of Firmicutes, they got twice as fat and took in more calories from the same amount of food than mice with the more normal bacteria ratio.

So perhaps some time in the future, when the holiday binge is over for yet another year, gym memberships won't top the list of people wanting to lose weight. Maybe it'll be a heapin' helping of bacteria.

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Comments (10)

Lance

Ohio

Holidays are a time when we are surrounded by all sorts of goodies and treats that contain extra calories. This article was informative, but should not be used to allow the addition of a pound or two over the Holidays. It was written to tell us the Scientific details of bacterias that live in our stomachs. Eating foods that are green plus moving more before, during, and after the holidays are the key to battling those unwanted pounds. This also helps battle depression and stress which accompany this delighful season!

Posted December 26, 2006 06:06 PM

Rasool

Mississauga

If you are getting enough fiber supplement everyday and passing stool u will stay lean. I've noticed when I dont get bowel movements for days it makes me fatter. Also squatting down like in indian lavatories is better then toilet seats as it completely empties ur stomach this is the best position.

Posted December 24, 2006 03:38 PM

Annoyed

[Over-presumptive Generic Commet #158!]

But seriously, there is no established causal link, therefore the study doesn't prove anything, it merely suggests a possibility.

As another commenter (sort of) pointed out, the diet of the mice is important here. If the mouse chow was being further digested by the bacteria, then the mice with the Firmicutes might have gained extra calories. However, we don't eat standard laboratory mouse chow. Also, we're not mice.

I seriously doubt that anything that we will be able to come up with will *safely* prevent weight gain.

Eat less. Exercise more. Grow up.

Posted December 24, 2006 01:08 PM

R.Russell

Langley,Canada

www.Probiotic-Lab.com manufacturing and distributing Bacteroidetes as a natural bacteria supplement for weight loss.

Posted December 23, 2006 01:18 PM

Joe

INDIANA

John Harvey Kellogg know about this long ago.

Posted December 22, 2006 02:52 PM

John

Yet another research and millions of dollars wasted to try to prove that people aren't responsible for their own laziness and obesity.

Posted December 22, 2006 12:45 PM

marc

I think that developing a spray that (harmlessly, yet effectively) disables one's taste buds will bring people's weights under conrol...Then, it's just a matter of having the will power to use the spray before tempting meals, deserts, etc.
Also, I think people should STOP watching the FOOD NETWORK because it "subliminally" suggests hunger, artificially, to those audience members who just watch while sitting & eating, sitting & eating, sitting & eating, etc. I feel this deserves a serious study, unto itself !!!

Posted December 22, 2006 06:43 AM

thomas waun

michigan

We've come along way to understand this but are still missing the reason for the difference in gut bacteria porportions. Hello, it's got to do with what we eat. Yes, I'll grant some genetic influence but the biggest contributator in the amount of meat versus vegetable fiber in our diets. We need to look at diet before they come up with a pill for the love handle syndrome.

Posted December 21, 2006 07:23 PM

Lori

Courtenay

How can I get less of this bacteria ? I love to eat a tonne at Christmas dinner & not gain an ounce !

Posted December 21, 2006 06:25 PM

Linda

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Battling the holiday bulge — with bacteria?

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Thursday, December 21, 2006 | 04:18 PM ET

By Peter Hadzipetros

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