Imagine being able to eat what you like without any fear of losing your abs.
That could soon be a reality after scientists developed a vaccine that makes the body ‘immune’ to gaining fat.
It works differently to Ozempic, which makes you feel fuller for longer and thus prevents you from overeating.
Instead, the new once weekly shot works by stopping harmful inflammation that leaves the body more prone to weight gain.
Researchers at the University of Colorado injected mice with Mycobacterium vaccae, a healthy bacteria found in cow’s milk and soil.
The team found that weekly injections left the mice essentially immune to weight gain, despite being fed a diet high in sugar and fat.
Additionally, there was no difference between rats who were vaccinated and ate unhealthy diets and the rats who were not vaccinated but ate healthy diets.
The findings suggest the vaccine ‘effectively prevents the excessive weight gain induced by a Western-style diet,’ the researchers write.
However, they cautioned that more research is still needed in humans.
The experts believe the bacteria works to reduce stress-induced inflammation, which can be triggered by diets high in inflammatory foods like processed meats, refined grains, and sugary drinks.
Inflammation and excess calories can raise levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, increasing the amount of fat the body stores.
Inflammation also disrupt the production of leptin, a hormone that regulates, metabolism and appetite, causing a need to eat more to feel full.
The findings come as the US faces an epidemic of obesity, with a record three in four adults being either overweight or obese.
And weight loss drugs like Ozempic have created a multimillion dollar market for drugs meant to combat obesity.
Dr Christopher Lowry, senior study author and professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado, said: ‘What is so striking about this study is that we saw a complete prevention of diet-related weight gain in these animals.
‘This suggests that exposure to beneficial bacteria can protect us against some of the negative health outcomes of the typical Western diet.’
The study, published last month in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, builds on previous research suggesting Mycobacterium vaccae could reduce inflammation linked to weight gain.
In the new study, one group of mice ate normal rodent food and did not receive the vaccine.
Another group ate a diet comprised of 40 percent fat, 40 percent carbohydrates – half of which came from sugar – and 20 percent protein.
Of those with the unhealthy diet, half received the vaccine while half did not.
Vaccines were given once per week.
By the end of the 10 weeks, the unvaccinated group eating an unhealthy diet gained 16 percent more weight than healthy eaters and had significantly more visceral fat.
This type of fat accumulates around internal organs and is directly linked to chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
However, there was no difference in weight gain between the junk food group that got the vaccine and the healthy eaters.
Inoculated mice on an unhealthy diet also had less visceral fat than the healthy eaters.
Luke Desmond, first study author and PhD candidate in Dr Lowry’s lab, said: ‘This finding suggests that M vaccae effectively prevents the excessive weight gain induced by a Western-style diet.’
However, it’s unclear if humans would see the same effects, and it’s unclear what the vaccine would cost or how it would be distributed down the line.
The team is hopeful a future vaccine could lessen the burden of obesity nationwide, especially amid growing amounts of ultra-processed foods, which takes up nearly three-quarters of the US food supply.
Dr Lowry said: ‘More than half of the food sold in grocery stores is junk food.
‘If we can simply restore our exposure to these old friends, we could potentially prevent weight gain and other health impacts even in the presence of our terrible Western diet.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
