Abstract

GONZALEZ-CORREA, Carlos-Augusto  and  GONZALEZ-CORREA, Clara-Helena. GLOBESITY AND ITS POSSIBLE INFECTIOUS COMPONENT. Biosalud [online]. 2009, vol.8, n.1, pp.132-142. ISSN 1657-9550.

Hyperadiposity or excess of body fat, usually classified as overweight or obesity, has become a pandemic, named by some authors as "Globesity" (a blend of Global Obesity"). This huge public health problem affects not only the developed world but also developing countries. It has been customary to consider that excess fat originates from a positive result in the simple equation "energy balance = caloric intake - caloric expenditure". In other words, if a person does not use up all their calorie intake, this will be stored as fat tissue. This may be also favored by a genetic component. Recent research, however, has shown that the intestinal microbiota (virus and bacteria manly located in the colon), plays an important role in the genesis of overweight and obesity. Although the exact mechanisms underlying this relationship are still to be clarified, there are at least two proposed ways: a) an increase in the intestinal absorption of monosaccharides due to an increased glocosilhydrolase activity, and b) an increase in free fatty acids intestinal absorption due to Fiaf (fasting induced adipocite factor) inhibition. These facts open the possibility of manipulating the colonic microbiota through prebiotics, probiotics, simbiotics and antibiotics as a therapeutic alternative to the treatment of hyperadiposity. The present paper reviews the main issues involved in this problem, considered to be of interest for everybody involved in health care.

Keywords : microbiota; overweight; obesity; probiotics.

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