Gut Health Is Emerging as a Predictor to Obesity
Weight gain isn’t exclusively tied to how well you eat and how active you are. While that’s the common consensus, scientists have understood for some time now that there’s a significant genetic propensity to obesity.
Some people are much more predisposed to becoming obese later in life than others, which is why you’ll often see overweight families instead of healthy parents and overweight kids.
Previously, we could only detect whether kids would be prone to obesity after they already started showing signs of being overweight. Normally you can check their metabolisms, but they change with age, so it’s hard to predict where it will end up when they’re adults.
By the time they’re all grown up, it could already be too late. New studies have shown that the genes contributing to obesity can be detected in children as early as two years old by studying one simple part of your body: gut health.
Your digestive system is responsible for far more than you might think. Of course, it processes food and converts it into waste, but it’s also closely tied with your metabolism and how that food is used in the body.
If you’re not aware, your digestive system is filled with tiny bacteria that help us by breaking down the food we eat, and those bacteria are the key to this study. The studies showed that by observing samples of the gut bacteria in children, they could accurately predict whether or not those children would be predisposed to obesity later in life.
This can make a major difference, because if it turns out your child is likely going to be overweight, you can change their eating habits early to make sure they don’t wind up overweight or obese later in life.
This study is also very relevant to adults. If an adult is already obese, they can lose the weight with workout regiments and diets, but the process can become easier if they can improve their own gut health. By helping your digestive system out, you’ll find that weight loss becomes a lot easier and you’ll see results faster.
One thing you can focus on if you want to better your gut health is fiber. Fiber is an essential nutrient that helps your digestive system do its job, so having enough is very important. You can increase your fiber intake by eating things like vegetables and grains.
