Science supports weight loss The slimming segment and its too-tempting-to-be-true promises have often played tricks on the food supplements industry and now they’re in trouble. “If the miracle pill existed, we would have known by now!”. Obviously, losing weight effortlessly is not possible, so it is better to understand the mechanisms that promote overweight and obesity to be able to anticipate them. Before losing belly fat,aareess is what is needed in the slimming sector and researchers are wondering what’s going on there. Following is a dive into science. ejected and criticized, the slimming 4/5 in the U.S. Upstream, on the workbench, the (and drainage) market is ranked enthusiasm for correlating microbiota and weight 4th among the food supplements is just as real. A U.S. team recently investigated2 segments in France (Actif’s Magazine # 75). the infant microbiome and cross-checked the re- Although it has fallen by 10% this year it still sults with the body mass index. A composition accounts for almost €162 million with more with a higher content of Bifodobacterium and a than 40% of purchases made in super- and lower content of Prevotella in 12-month babies is hypermarkets. The Covid crisis seems to have associated with a decrease of the BMI in children benefited this sales channel, yet,during this aged 2–5 years. And in Spain, researchers com- period the French did not care very much about 55% pared the microbiota of overweight and obese their weight. Figures: more than one in two French people with that of slim subjects. Some strains3 people gained weight (55.68%) with an average were positively correlated withweigh (Collinsellat weight gain of 6.05 kg (Overweight and Covid-19 More than 55% of aerofaciens, Dorea formicigenerans, D. lngicat-o Study, SagesseSanté,1,484 participants, May French people have ena– Editor’s note: greater abundance in obese 2021)! All of these are unwanted extra pounds that gained weight. and overweight subjects) and others such as respondents want to get rid of: nearly 80 percent Lachnospiraceae with fat mass. And certain gut of them indicated they want to lose 9 poundson average. But how? The study shows that the 6kgbacteria were granted the status of biomarkers ofobesity. Now let’s get back to the United States, answer will not be provided by diets. Less than one where a study showed that a high-protein diet4 in ten French people want to turn to a low-calorie taken on average. diet while payable slimming programs such as Comme J’aime, Anaca3 collected only 3% of votes. The big winner would be a “healthy” attitude with nutrition as the main driver. Moreover, 73.35% of respondents consider nutrition to be the most important factor in losing weight. By eating local organic products and cooking more, for sure, but not only. In this holistic approach to weight management, which no longer narrows down to blacklisting calories,consumers are educating themselves and seeking to better understand the mechanisms of weight gain and its complications.1 Along with botanical ingredients, microalgae and fatty acids, the microbiota is increasingly gaining ground. But not in any way, given the (scientific) rigor currently demanded by consumers. FUTURE: THE SECOND BRAIN Over the last twelve months, the question “Do pro- biotics help to lose weight?” was entered +223% in the Google search bar (Lumina Intelligence). Yet the reviews left after usage (of these weight-tar- geting probiotic products) don’t live up to the “pre-order” enthusiasm with an average rating of ecneicS — ecneicS- 841 -