If studies suggest that most people who quit smoking do not consume more calories, why does substantial weight gain occur? That is what the Weizmann Institute of Science has set out to understand.
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In its latest study – published on Thursday in British scientific journal Nature – researchers report discovering that obesity developed after "smoking cessation" in mice may be driven by the weight-modulating compounds released by their gut microbes.
"Our findings exemplify how the host and microbiome act as partners in regulating weight and metabolism," said Professor Eran Elinav, who headed the research team. "The compounds we have identified may lead to new treatments that will help people avoid weight gain when quitting smoking. Moreover, these compounds may be further developed into therapies to fight obesity even among nonsmokers."
The researchers found that mice that were regularly exposed to cigarette smoke did not gain weight, despite consuming a diet high in fat and sugar. When the smoke exposure stopped, the mice rapidly gained weight, as often happens to humans who quit smoking.
But when the mice were given broad-spectrum antibiotics that depleted their microbiome, they gained much less weight after quitting smoking and stayed slim for months regardless of their diet. Evidently, smoking-related compounds such as nicotine penetrated the gut of "smoking" mice from the bloodstream, thereby altering the gut's bacterial composition and, consequently, the body's metabolism.
"The profound impact that our microbial tenants have on our body never ceases to amaze us," Elinav said. "Our findings shed new light on how the microbiome interacts with the human body in regulating our weight and metabolism, in ways that may be therapeutically exploited."
Cigarette smoking is practiced by over a billion people worldwide and accounts for over six million deaths each year, according to Weizman Institute.
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