Scientists and dietitians have told us for decades that overweight is a simple equation: calories-in balanced with calories-out.  Now, there may be another factor on obesity: your genetic disposition towards a particular kind of bacteria in your intestines and colon.

An article in last month’s Time Magazine by Alice Park sheds some light on the discovery originally published in Science Translational Medicine November 12th, that gut microbiota may have a lot to do with whether we are lean or fat.

These gut microbes, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, are necessary for digestion but if there’s an imbalance of too many of the former then we may be adding extra calorie storage to our bodies, otherwise known as fat.

It’s a recent discovery, and it is thought that genetic heritage may also play a role.  There’s no suggestion about what to do about it, other than what we’ve also been hearing for a long time: eat more vegetables and fruit, and less of the high-calorie, high-fat western diet.

Were YOUR family ancestors overweight?  Do YOU think obesity is about what you eat, and how your digest it?  Please comment below.

****COMING JANUARY 4th: A WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT BY GIVING AWAY THE POUNDS!  PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS.****