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Immunity-Based Evolutionary Interpretation of Diet-Induced Thermogenesis
Wan-Hui Liao1, Maciej Henneberg2, Wolfgang Langhans3
1Physiology and Behavior Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland; Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Cell Metabolism
|June 16, 2016
Summary
Diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) may not prevent obesity. This study suggests DIT results from gut microbes, not a defense against weight gain, explaining the obesity epidemic.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) is proposed as a defense against obesity.
- Empirical evidence for DIT's effectiveness in limiting human weight gain is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose an immune-based explanation for DIT.
- To investigate DIT's role in host-gut microbiota coevolution and its implications for obesity.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual review and hypothesis formulation based on existing literature.
- Analysis of the coevolutionary relationship between host immunity and gut microbiota.
Main Results:
- DIT is hypothesized to arise from the host immune system's response to gut microbiota proliferation.
- This immune-mediated thermogenesis aims to control microbial expansion, not body weight.
Conclusions:
- DIT is an immune adaptation, not an effective mechanism for preventing obesity.
- The proposed immune explanation aligns with the current obesity epidemic, suggesting DIT is not a weight-regulatory "adaptation".
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