Elsevier

Molecular Metabolism

Volume 1, Issues 1–2, December 2012, Pages 21-31
Molecular Metabolism

Review
Obesity and the gut microbiome: Striving for causality

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2012.07.002Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Abstract

The gut microbiome has been proposed to play a causal role in obesity. Here, we review the historical context for this hypothesis, highlight recent key findings, and critically discuss issues central to further progress in the field, including the central epistemological problem for the field: how to define causality in the relationship between microbiota and obesity phenotypes. Definition of such will be critical for the field to move forward.

Keywords

Microbiome
Microbiota
Obesity
Type 2 diabetes
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Innate immunity
Segmented filamentous bacteria

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