Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern because it increases a persons risk for developing high blood pressure, diabetes and a number of other serious health problems. Its well understood that consuming more calories than you expend through exercise and daily activities causes weight gain. But with about one in every three American adults now considered obese, scientists are attempting to identify additional factors that affect a persons tendency to gain and retain excess weight. In the recent issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, scientists from Mayo Clinic Arizona and Arizona State University examine the role that bacteria in the human gastrointestinal tract play in regulating weight and the development of obesity........