Integrative and quantitative bioenergetics: Design of a study to assess the impact of the gut microbiome on host energy balance.

Unlabelled: The literature is replete with clinical studies that characterize the structure, diversity, and function of the gut microbiome and correlate the results to different disease states, including obesity. Whether the microbiome has a direct impact on obesity has not been established. To address this gap, we asked whether the gut microbiome and its bioenergetics quantitatively change host energy balance.