A pasteurized gut bacterium helped overweight and obese adults regain less weight after dieting in a small Nature Medicine study.
The study tested Akkermansia muciniphila MucT, a pasteurized — not live — gut bacterium, during the difficult period after weight loss when many people regain pounds. The findings suggest the gut microbiome may play a role in weight maintenance, but the evidence is still early and does not establish a long-term solution.
The trial enrolled 90 overweight and obese adults from the Netherlands. Participants first followed an eight-week low-energy diet and were instructed to lose 8% of their body weight, according to a press release cited in the report. They then entered a 24-week weight-maintenance phase and were randomly assigned to take either the pasteurized bacterium or a placebo.
Participants who took Akkermansia regained an average of 2.6 pounds, compared with 7.1 pounds among those who received the placebo, a statistically significant difference reported in the study results. No serious adverse events were reported.
Researchers said the treatment’s effectiveness appeared to depend on a person’s existing gut microbiome. They also noted important limits: the trial was small, lasted only 24 weeks after the diet phase and did not require participants to follow a standardized diet during maintenance.
Dr. Peter Balazs, a hormone and weight-loss specialist in New York and New Jersey who was not involved in the research, described the trial as “well-designed” and said the finding was notable because many probiotics have shown less effect. He also emphasized that pasteurized Akkermansia is not a typical live probiotic.
Balazs said its effects may come from bacterial components, including a protein called Amuc_1100, which he said can help strengthen the gut barrier, reduce low-grade inflammation and support metabolic function. After weight loss, he said, the body often pushes to regain fat, and Akkermansia may help quiet some of those biological signals.
Still, he cautioned against treating the bacterium as a stand-alone fix. “It helps with maintenance, not initial loss,” Balazs told Fox News Digital. “Long-term use is plausible; however, it hasn’t been proven beyond 24 weeks. This does not replace diet, exercise or medical advice.”
The next question is whether larger and longer studies can confirm the benefit, identify who is most likely to respond and clarify how the treatment might fit into medical weight-management care.
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