In France, nearly 15% of the adult population is considered obese. Overweight and obesity are considered major public health issues, due to their constant increase for several years. However, the phenomena at the origin of obesity are not yet fully explained. A recent study reveals in particular that certain obese subjects are attracted to fatty foods .
The cause of obesity
With more than 6 million French people affected, obesity is a public health priority. But what phenomena are at the origin of overweight and obesity?
The balance between energy intake and energy expenditure is the main mechanism responsible for maintaining, losing, or gaining weight. This balance is influenced by many factors, such as:
- Family-related factors: genetic predisposition, family habits;
- Biological factors: age, sex, metabolism, the existence of certain chronic diseases, taking medication;
- Social and environmental factors: advertising, changes in society, the pace of work;
- Individual factors: perception of personal image, self-esteem, stress, anxiety.
Faced with such a large set of factors that come into play, it is sometimes difficult to identify the precise causes of obesity, which are nevertheless essential to fight effectively against this scourge.
A particular appetite for fatty foods
Studies conducted on populations of obese people have shown that some people with obesity over-consume fatty foods (i.e. high in fat ), which accentuates their weight gain and creates a real vicious circle. . What are the causes of such behavior?
Recent scientific studies provide a tentative explanation. Indeed, some obese people would be particularly attracted by the very taste of fatty foods. According to the researchers, this taste of fat would be the result of a dysfunction in the sensory perception of food lipids in the mouth, causing in compensation overconsumption of foods rich in fats.
To better understand this phenomenon, French researchers have just published the results of a clinical study on the link between the oral microbiota (oral intestinal flora) and the oro-sensory detection threshold of lipids ( fats ).
The oral flora involved in food choices
In this study, the composition of saliva and oral microbiota of adults of normal weight (body mass index (BMI) less than 25) and obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30) was determined. The analysis of the results showed the existence of a relationship between the sensitivity of oral perception of linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid) and the composition of the participants’ oral flora, regardless of their BMI.
Thus, some participants had an altered oral perception of lipids, linked to a specific oral flora (an increase in the number of species of bacteria present in the flora, in particular, bacteria with pro-inflammatory properties). This link between the alteration in the perception of lipids and a particular oral flora was amplified in subjects suffering from obesity. In addition, in previous work, researchers had observed that these participants overconsumed fatty foods.
This study suggests that the oral flora, by modulating the oral perception of food lipids, could condition food choices, and in particular the consumption of foods high in fat. Even if these results need to be confirmed by a larger-scale study, these unpublished data could make it possible to design means of identifying obese people with impaired oral perception, in order to optimize their management. One more step in understanding the mechanisms behind obesity!