Is Obesity an Oral Bacterial Disease?

New research published in the June issue of the Journal of Dental Research
suggests that oral bacteria may contribute to the development of obesity.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The world-wide explosion of
overweight people has been called an epidemic. The inflammatory nature of
obesity is widely recognized. Could it really be an epidemic involving an
infectious agent? In this climate of concern over the increasing prevalence of
overweight conditions in our society, investigators have focused on the
possible role of oral bacteria as a potential direct contributor to obesity.

To investigate this possibility, the study's researchers J.M. Goodson, D.
Groppo, S. Halem and E. Carpino measured salivary bacterial populations of
overweight women. Saliva was collected from 313 women with a body mass index
between 27 and 32, and bacterial populations were measured by DNA probe
analysis. Levels in this group were compared with data from a population of
232 healthy individuals from periodontal disease studies. The median
percentage difference of seven of the 40 bacterial species measured was
greater than 2 percent in the saliva of overweight women. Classification tree
analysis of salivary microbiological composition revealed that 98.4 percent of
the overweight women could be identified by the presence of a single bacterial
species (Selenomonas noxia) at levels greater than 1.05 percent of the total
salivary bacteria. Analysis of these data suggests that the composition of
salivary bacteria changes in overweight women.

It seems likely that these bacterial species could serve as biological
indicators of a developing overweight condition. Of even greater interest, and
the subject of future research, is the possibility that oral bacteria may
participate in the pathology that leads to obesity.

The complete research study is published in the June issue of the
International and American Associations for Dental Research's Journal of
Dental Research, and is available online at
http://jdr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/full/88/6/519.

About the International Association for Dental Research
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a nonprofit
organization with more than 10,000 individual members worldwide, dedicated to:
(1) advancing research and increasing knowledge to improve oral health, (2)
supporting the oral health research community, and (3) facilitating the
communication and application of research findings for the improvement of oral
health worldwide. To learn more, visit www.iadr.org. The American Association
for Dental Research (AADR) is the largest Division of IADR, with nearly 4,000
members in the United States. To learn more, visit www.aadronline.com.

About the Journal of Dental Research
The Journal of Dental Research is a multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the
dissemination of new knowledge in all sciences relevant to dentistry and the
oral cavity and associated structures in health and disease. At 3.966, the JDR
holds the highest Five-Year Impact Factor of all dental journals publishing
original research, with a cited half-life >10 years, reflecting the
influential nature of the Journal's content. It also has the highest
Eigenfactor Score in the field.

SOURCE International Association for Dental Research

Ingrid L. Thomas of the International Association for Dental Research,
+1-703-299-8084, ithomas@iadr.org