Steve Harakeh
King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Title: Obesity and microbiota among healthy Saudis with various degrees of obesity
Biography
Biography: Steve Harakeh
Abstract
Background: Obesity is a modern global epidemic and is a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia is on the rise, placing a huge burden on health and economic resources. Recently, gut microbiota has been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of many metabolic disorders and diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and CVD.
Objective: The objective of this study was to identify obesity-associated gut microbiota dysbiosis and their relationship to body mass index (BMI) among healthy Saudis with different degrees of obesity.
Methodology: A total of 56 healthy individuals with different degrees of obesity were recruited. All those filled out a questionnaire related to their nutritional habits, health conditions and demographics. Their height, body weight, hip and waist circumference were measured (BMI and age). Stool samples were collected and genomic DNA was extracted from those samples. The DNA samples were sequenced via next generation sequencing (MiSeq), sequencing reads were quality trimmed, analyzed and assigned to taxonomic units using 16S Meta genomics app (Illumina Base Space). One way ANOVA was used to find whether there is a significant between BMI in relation to microbial species
Results: The results indicated the presence of various bacteriological species. Porphyromonas circumdentaria, Fervidobacterium islandicum and Desulforhopalus singaporensis were found in the underweight group, while Lysobacter soli, Anoxybacillus eryuanensis and Anoxybacillus flavithermus were present in the obese group.
Conclusion/Recommendations: The results indicated that 1538 species were detected. There is some difference among the different species in relation to BMI. Work is in progress to include more human subjects and find the bacteria involved with obesity.