Microbes Related to Appetite Control?

New research is suggesting that appetites that are in overdrive may be linked to not only the processed foods we eat and the availability of easy, cheap food, but also the bacteria that inhabit the intestines and the digestive tract.  The studies that show this link were actually done on mice. Intestinal bacteria from the obese mice were actually extracted and then implanted in the thin mice (I know, yuck).

They found that after this lovely surgical procedure, the thin mice actually started to eat a lot more and gain weight.  This concludes that there may be a link between the microbes found in the guts of fat mice and the fact that their appetites seem to be in overdrive.

But isn’t this putting the cart before the horse?  It seems almost like this could be one very small reason behind obesity and the need to over eat, and they are overlooking the fact that there could be several other factors in the transplanted material, not just the microbes.

The bacteria also is linked to low grade inflammation, which is linked to obesity in the first place.  The suggestion here is that people are over eating because of this type of microbe growing in their intestinal tract.