In 2021, 63% of adults in the UK were considered to be overweight or obese. Obesity leads to a plethora of health issues, such as cardiovascular issues and an even higher risk of developing cancer. Therefore, it is easy to see why obesity is considered a pandemic, an illness whose prevalence increases annually due to the increased availability of fast food and the living crisis. Type II diabetes is another illness that occurs as a result of obesity, altering the life of its victim forever.
This highlights the importance of some research published on July 5th conducted by researchers at the University of California. Amir Zarrinpar PhD and his colleagues investigated the impact of time restricted feeding on diet induced obesity in mice, focusing on the function of the ileum and its microbiome composition and transcriptome.
The ileum in both mice and humans is the final stretch of the small intestine. Within the ileum, nutrients are drawn out of the liquified food consumed by the organism. Zarrinpar and his colleagues found that the absence of time-restricted feeding caused disruption to the microbiome rhythms of the gut as well as signalling pathways involved in modulating the mice's intestinal clocks. The mice became fat and unhealthy as a result of being able to eat whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Diet induced obesity had the same effect.
Zarrinpar stated that "these findings underscore the influence of diet and time restricted feeding patterns in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, which in turn modulates circadian rhythms that govern metabolic health".
Not only are these findings important in understanding both obesity and type II diabetes, but they will inform future studies in regards to how drugs impact gut function depending on the state of the gut microbiome as a result of diet and the time of day.