It’s not just your figure that changes when you lose weight: you lose weight it also causes important changes in the composition of the bacteria in our gut and in our brain activity, which influence each other.
For many the period around Christmas and New Year is a time of conviviality, charity and… lots and lots of food. We often want to lose those extra pounds quickly, making “losing weight” one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. But no matter how easy it is to gain weight, it can be difficult to lose it again. Our gut, hormones and brain influence our weight and eating behavior. But what if you can lose weight? Does this also affect our body the other way around? Chinese scientists have studied this.
They specifically looked at overweight people who were on a special diet: Iintermittent energy restriction or “periodic energy capping”. This meant that participants sometimes had days where they ate very little and sometimes days where they ate normally. This diet lasted a total of 62 days and consisted of two parts. In the first part, participants received special meals from a dietician, with fewer and fewer calories. Until meals eventually contain only a quarter of your normal food intake. In the second part, participants were given a list of healthy foods to choose from, which amounted to approximately five hundred calories per day for women and six hundred calories per day for men.
Results of the diet
The researchers were particularly curious about the relationship between bacteria in the gut, the brain, and eating behavior. That’s why they looked at aspects of participants’ health before, during and after following the diet. To do this, they examined feces, took blood samples and performed brain scans. This showed, among other things, that the diet worked well for losing weight in this group: participants lost an average of 7.6 pounds. They also had less fat, smaller waists, lower blood pressure, and better blood sugar, cholesterol levels, and liver function.
The influence of bacteria
But following the diet also affected gut bacteria and brain activity. For example, after the diet, researchers observed less brain activity in areas involved in appetite and addiction. They also saw that the ratio between different types of gut bacteria changed. For example, the share of species has decreased Escherichia coli, Here comes the Coprococco In Eubacterium hallii – species that inhibit the area of the brain known to be important for a variety of executive functions, including willpower to lose weight. On the contrary, the species Parabacteroides distasonis In Faecalibacterium plautii actually more active – bacteria that influence brain areas related to attention, suppressing impulses, emotions and learning.
Your weight determines your food choice
Attention to this changed brain activity is very important, says Qiang Zeng, one of the researchers. “Overweight is one of the major health problems of our time. There are many ways to lose weight quickly, but maintaining a normal weight throughout your life is much more difficult. Ironically, your weight also determines your food choices, says Zeng. “Look at the people around you. Who can resist a nice slice of cake when there’s a choice? Thin people often naturally choose low-calorie foods, while overweight people often lean towards high-calorie foods.” And this could be due to the interaction between the gut and the brain.
We overestimate how healthy we eat
We all know that healthy eating is very important. This is mainly due to the fact that it significantly reduces the risk of various diseases, including the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is often difficult to maintain a healthy diet. But surprisingly, most of us still seem committed to eating healthily even when we’re not, a 2022 study showed. Of more than 9,700 participants, about 8,000 (about 85%) inaccurately rated the quality of their diet. Of these, almost all (99%) overestimated the healthiness of the diet. This means we en masse think we are eating healthier than we actually are. But that’s not even the most surprising thing, according to researcher Jessica Thomson. “What we found most surprising is the extent to which people overestimate the healthiness of their diet,” she previously told Scientias.nl. “For example, they perceived their diet as very good, when in reality their diet was poor.”
Interaction between intestine and brain
“The gut microbiome influences energy balance and also interacts with the brain through what we call the ‘brain-gut-microbiome axis,’” says Zeng. Numerous scientific studies have already shown that this axis is involved in the development of obesity, but it is still unclear how exactly communication works. This research struggles with this too. It seems clear that the observed changes are related to each other, but what exactly the causes are and what the consequences are is not. “We think that bacteria in the gut talk to the brain in a complex, bidirectional way. The bacteria produce substances that reach the brain via nerves and blood. On the contrary, the brain regulates eating behavior, while the food we eat changes the composition of the bacteria in the intestine,” explains researcher Xiaoning Wang.
Follow-up research
While there are still unanswered questions about whether changes in the gut microbiome cause changes in the brain or vice versa, Zeng says these findings provide direction for further research into how communication between the gut microbiome and the brain influences weight loss. According to fellow author Liming Wang, the next question is how exactly the bacteria in the gut and brain communicate in overweight people, even when they lose weight. “For example, which specific bacteria in the gut and which areas of the brain are particularly important for successfully losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight?”
Researchers hope this will allow us to better understand the role of gut bacteria and the brain in obesity and weight loss, in order to not only contribute to new ways to lose weight, but also stay healthy.
2023-12-29 11:15:45
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