Breath and weight gain linked, says Indian doctor in US
Posted on: 27/Mar/2013 1:12:04 PM
An Indian doctor has found a relationship between a person’s breath and weight gain. Dr. Ruchi Mathur says that every person’s breath has levels of methane and hydrogen. The higher the concentration of these gases, the more likely the person is to gain weight.
The concentration of these gases is more likely when a micro organism called Methanobrevibacter smithii (M. smithii) colonises the digestive tract. ‘Normally, the collection of microorganisms living in the digestive tract is balanced and benefits humans by helping them convert food into energy’, said Dr. Mathur who is Director, Outpatient Diabetes Treatment and Education Center in the Division of Endocrinology at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. ‘When M. smithii becomes overabundant, however, it may alter the balance in a way that makes the human host more likely to gain weight and accumulate fat… This is the first large-scale human study to connect the dots and show an association between gas production and body weight.’
