The Impact of Gut Microbiome on Obesity: Investigating the Link Between Gut Health and Obesity Prevention
Abstract
Scientists now recognize the gastrointestinal tract microbial community as an important factor for metabolic health because it controls various metabolic functions. Modern studies have identified that gut microbiota powerfully controls energy management along with nutrient usage and immune function so scientists now recognize it as a central element for obesity creation and treatment. Dysbiosis is now strongly linked to metabolic dysfunction and increased inflamed conditions and obesity development because it seems the state of gut health determines important obesity prevention methods. The author evaluates the complex association between gut microbiota composition and obesity through research on weight regulation dependence on microbial diversity functional capacity and metabolite production. Current evidence shows that therapeutic approaches aimed at balancing microbial populations through nutrient changes along with adding probiotics and prebiotics and performing fecal microbiota transplantation lead to important changes in obesity development. The research focuses on short-chain fatty acids produced by the gut since they protect against weight gain. The paper combines results from human clinical trials and animal tests together with contemporary human trials that were assessed through extensive literature review research. The study results confirm that particular microbial patterns create a direct link to obesity risk which strengthens the prospect of developing microbiome-driven therapeutic approaches. The clarification of gut health mechanisms related to obesity development helps scientists understand metabolic pathway functions and explores new non-invasive public health prevention methods.
References
Berg, G., Kusstatscher, P., Abdelfattah, A., Cernava, T., & Smalla, K. (2021, April 8). Microbiome Modulation—Toward a Better Understanding of Plant Microbiome Response to Microbial Inoculants. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, 650610. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.650610
Bongers, K. S., McDonald, R. A., Winner, K. M., Falkowski, N. R., Brown, C. A., Baker, J. M., … Dickson, R. P. (2022). Antibiotics cause metabolic changes in mice primarily through microbiome modulation rather than behavioral changes. PLoS ONE, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265023
Cmrečak, F., Andrašek, I., Gregov, V., & Beketić-Orešković, L. (2020). Obesity and cancer. Libri Oncologici, 48(2–3), 89–102. https://doi.org/10.20471/LO.2020.48.02-03.16
Deehan, E. C., Yang, C., Perez-Muñoz, M. E., Nguyen, N. K., Cheng, C. C., Triador, L., … Walter, J. (2020). Precision Microbiome Modulation with Discrete Dietary Fiber Structures Directs Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production. Cell Host and Microbe, 27(3), 389-404.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2020.01.006
Eindor-Abarbanel, A., Healey, G. R., & Jacobson, K. (2021, November 1). Therapeutic advances in gut microbiome modulation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease from pediatrics to adulthood. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(22), 12506. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212506
Geng, J., Ni, Q., Sun, W., Li, L., & Feng, X. (2022, March 1). The links between gut microbiota and obesity and obesity related diseases. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 147, 112678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2022.112678
Gopalakrishnan, V., Helmink, B. A., Spencer, C. N., Reuben, A., & Wargo, J. A. (2018, April 9). The Influence of the Gut Microbiome on Cancer, Immunity, and Cancer Immunotherapy. Cancer Cell, 33(4), 570 580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2018.03.015
Harbuwono, D. S., Pramono, L. A., Yunir, E., & Subekti, I. (2018). Obesity and central obesity in Indonesia: Evidence from a national health survey. Medical Journal of Indonesia, 27(2), 53–59. https://doi.org/10.13181/mji.v27i2.1512
Jiang, S. Z., Lu, W., Zong, X. F., Ruan, H. Y., & Liu, Y. (2016, October 1). Obesity and hypertension. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 12(4), 2395-2399. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2016.3667
Johnson, K. V. A. (2020). Gut microbiome composition and diversity are related to human personality traits. Human Microbiome Journal, 15, 100069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humic.2019.100069
Kansra, A. R., Lakkunarajah, S., & Jay, M. S. (2021, January 12). Childhood and Adolescent Obesity: A Review. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2020.581461
Knisely, A., Seo, Y. D., Wargo, J. A., & Chelvanambi, M. (2023, February 1). Monitoring and Modulating Diet and Gut Microbes to Enhance Response and Reduce Toxicity to Cancer Treatment. Cancers, 15(3), 777. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030777
Leeuwendaal, N. K., Stanton, C., O’toole, P. W., & Beresford, T. P. (2022, April 1). Fermented Foods, Health and the Gut Microbiome. Nutrients, 14(7), 1527. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14071527
Li, W., Deng, Y., Chu, Q., & Zhang, P. (2019, April 10). Gut microbiome and cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Letters, 447, 41 47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2019.01.015
Lin, X., & Li, H. (2021, September 6). Obesity: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Therapeutics. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2021.706978
Liu, B. N., Liu, X. T., Liang, Z. H., & Wang, J. H. (2021, July 7). Gut microbiota in obesity. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 27(25), 3837-3850. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v27.i25.3837
Łoniewska, B., Fraszczyk-Tousty, M., Tousty, P., Skonieczna-Żydecka, K., Maciejewska-Markiewicz, D., & Łoniewski, I. (2023). Analysis of Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) in Healthy Children during the First Two Years of Life: An Observational Prospective Cohort Study. Nutrients, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020367
Machireddy, J. (2023). Automation in Healthcare Claims Processing: Enhancing Efficiency and Accuracy. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 09(01), 825-834. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5159747
Machireddy, J. R. (2024). Machine learning and automation in healthcare claims processing. Journal of Artificial Intelligence, 6(1), 686-701.
Magne, F., Gotteland, M., Gauthier, L., Zazueta, A., Pesoa, S., Navarrete, P., & Balamurugan, R. (2020, May 1). The firmicutes/bacteroidetes ratio: A relevant marker of gut dysbiosis in obese patients? Nutrients, 12(5), 1474. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12051474
Maher, S. E., O’Brien, E. C., Moore, R. L., Byrne, D. F., Geraghty, A. A., Saldova, R., … McAuliffe, F. M. (2023, May 14). The association between the maternal diet and the maternal and infant gut microbiome: A systematic review. British Journal of Nutrition, 129(9), 1491-1499. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114520000847
Morales Fénero, C., Amaral, M. A., Xavier, I. K., Padovani, B. N., Paredes, L. C., Takiishi, T., … Saraiva Câmara, N. O. (2021). Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) improve TNBS-induced colitis in zebrafish. Current Research in Immunology, 2, 142–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crimmu.2021.08.003
Nussbaumerova, B., & Rosolova, H. (2023, December 1). Obesity and Dyslipidemia. Current Atherosclerosis Reports, 25, 947–955. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-023-01167-2
Paetzold, B., Willis, J. R., Pereira De Lima, J., Knödlseder, N., Brüggemann, H., Quist, S. R., … Güell, M. (2019). Skin microbiome modulation induced by probiotic solutions. Microbiome, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-019-0709-3
Peirce, J. M., & Alviña, K. (2019, October 1). The role of inflammation and the gut microbiome in depression and anxiety. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 97(10), 1223-1241. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24476
Quagebeur, R., Dalile, B., Raes, J., Van Oudenhove, L., Verbeke, K., & Vrieze, E. (2023). The role of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in regulating stress responses, eating behavior, and nutritional state in anorexia nervosa: protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00917-6
Ratajczak, W., Rył, A., Mizerski, A., Walczakiewicz, K., Sipak, O., & Laszczyńska, M. (2019). Immunomodulatory potential of gut microbiome-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Acta Biochimica Polonica, 66(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.18388/abp.2018_2648
Rauf, A., Khalil, A. A., Rahman, U. ur, Khalid, A., Naz, S., Shariati, M. A., … Rengasamy, K. R. R. (2022). Recent advances in the therapeutic application of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs): An updated review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 62(22), 6034–6054. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2021.1895064
Safaei, M., Sundararajan, E. A., Driss, M., Boulila, W., & Shapi’i, A. (2021, September 1). A systematic literature review on obesity: Understanding the causes & consequences of obesity and reviewing various machine learning approaches used to predict obesity. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 136, 104754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104754
Sarma, S., Sockalingam, S., & Dash, S. (2021, February 1). Obesity as a multisystem disease: Trends in obesity rates and obesity-related complications. Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, 23(S1), 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/dom.14290
Schmidt, T. S. B., Raes, J., & Bork, P. (2018, March 8). The Human Gut Microbiome: From Association to Modulation. Cell, 172(6), 1198 1215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.02.044
Sharif, K. S., Abubakkar, M., Uddin, M. M., & Arefin Khaled, A. M. (2024). A Comparative Framework Integrating Hybrid Convolutional and Unified Graph Neural Networks for Accurate Parkinson’s Disease Classification. 2024 7th International Seminar on Research of Information Technology and Intelligent Systems (ISRITI), Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2024, pp. 31-37. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISRITI64779.2024.10963443
Sharif, K. S., Uddin, M. M., & Abubakkar, M. (2024). NeuroSignal Precision: A Hierarchical Approach for Enhanced Insights in Parkinson's Disease Classification. 2024 International Conference on Intelligent Cybernetics Technology & Applications (ICICyTA), Bali, Indonesia, 2024, pp. 1244-1249. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICICYTA64807.2024.1091290
Smith, K. B., & Smith, M. S. (2016, March 1). Obesity Statistics. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, 43(1), 121-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2015.10.001
Stojanov, S., Berlec, A., & Štrukelj, B. (2020, November 1). The influence of probiotics on the firmicutes/bacteroidetes ratio in treating obesity and inflammatory bowel disease. Microorganisms, 8(11), 1715. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8111715
Svačina, Š. (2020). Obesity and cardiovascular disease. Vnitrni Lekarstvi, 66(2), 89–91. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.atv.0000216787.85457.f3
Tomás-Pejó, E., González-Fernández, C., Greses, S., Kennes, C., Otero-Logilde, N., Veiga, M. C., … Passoth, V. (2023, December 1). Production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as chemicals or substrates for microbes to obtain biochemicals. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, 16, 96. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-023-02349-5
Tseng, C. H., & Wu, C. Y. (2019, March 1). The gut microbiome in obesity. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 118(S1), S3 S9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2018.07.009
Tu, P., Chi, L., Bodnar, W., Zhang, Z., Gao, B., Bian, X., … Lu, K. (2020, March 1). Gut microbiome toxicity: Connecting the environment and gut microbiome-associated diseases. Toxics, 8(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics8010019
Vaamonde, J. G., & Álvarez-Món, M. A. (2020). Obesity and overweight. Medicine (Spain), 13(14), 767–776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.med.2020.07.010
Venegas, D. P., De La Fuente, M. K., Landskron, G., González, M. J., Quera, R., Dijkstra, G., … Hermoso, M. A. (2019). Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) mediated gut epithelial and immune regulation and their relevance for inflammatory bowel diseases. Frontiers in Immunology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.00277
Wu, J., Wang, K., Wang, X., Pang, Y., & Jiang, C. (2021, May 1). The role of the gut microbiome and its metabolites in metabolic diseases. Protein and Cell, 12(5), 360-373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13238-020-00814-7
Yoo, J. Y., Groer, M., Dutra, S. V. O., Sarkar, A., & McSkimming, D. I. (2020, October 1). Gut microbiota and immune system interactions. Microorganisms, 8(10), 1587. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8101587
Copyright (c) 2025 Sinigdha Islam, Banasree Roy Urmi, Dr. Mahmudul Hasan, Ataul Karim, Md. Jobaer Rahman Rashed, Md Mehedi Hasan, Aditta Das, Rajib Kumar Malakar, Shekh Mohammad Mostafa, Maherun Nesa, Faroque Md Mohsin

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.