Changes in the intestinal microbiota due to diet and their impact in the genesis of obesity

The intestinal microbiota has an important function in health: it stimulates the immune system, it protects against the invasion of pathogens and obtains energy of the nutrients. Thus, the changes in its composition alter the guest's homeostasis and this rebounds on his health. Recently it has been stated that the microbiota which colonizes the intestine of the human being, can have a significant function in the development of obesity, due to the differences of this microflora in thin and obese persons -- according to metagenomic analysis --, which are associated with the existence of a smaller intestinal microbial diversity in them. In this work, it is explained how the diet influences in the composition and functionality of the intestinal microbiota, and how this bidirectional relationship rebounds in the genesis of obesity.