ICDSUPL5-E003

Volume: 5, 2026
5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT

Abstract number: E003

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.E003

Published online: 22 April 2026

From soil to gut: environmental degradation as a potential driver of the obesity epidemic

Patrycja Białowąs*¹ and Wojciech Białowąs²

¹ Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski University, 1 Gustaw Herling-Grudziński St., 30-705 Kraków, Poland

² Doctoral School, Catholic University of Lublin, 1F Konstatntynów St., 20-708 Lublin, Poland

^{* Corresponding author: bialowaspatrycja@gmail.com}

In recent decades, the global obesity epidemic has reached the scale of a public health crisis, with over 1 billion individuals worldwide meeting the criteria for obesity and nearly 3 billion living with overweight or obesity. Traditional risk factors, including energy surplus, physical inactivity, and genetic predispositions, do not fully account for the rapid increase in obesity prevalence. Environmental determinants, including ecosystem degradation and loss of microbial biodiversity, are increasingly recognized as contributing factors. Environmental degradation encompasses biodiversity loss, soil degradation, agricultural intensification, and the widespread use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Soils, which harbor billions of microorganisms per gram, constitute the foundation of ecosystems and serve as a source for human microbiota colonization. Intensive agricultural practices, monocultures, and excessive agrochemical application reduce soil microbial diversity, thereby limiting human exposure to environmental microorganisms and decreasing gut microbiota diversity.

The Biodiversity Hypothesis and Hygiene Hypothesis suggest that limited contact with environmental microorganisms in industrialized societies – driven by urbanization, environmental sterilization, and widespread antibiotic use – may lead to a depletion of human microbiota and dysregulation of immune function. The gut microbiota, comprising over 10¹⁴ cells representing hundreds of bacterial species, predominantly Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, plays a pivotal role in host metabolism. It exerts its effects through the synthesis of bacterial metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs: acetate, propionate, butyrate), and bile acid transformations, thereby regulating lipid and glucose metabolism, intestinal barrier integrity, and inflammatory status. Microbiota disturbances (dysbiosis) are associated with increased intestinal permeability, metabolic endotoxemia, and low-grade chronic inflammation, which promote the development of obesity and metabolic diseases. Moreover, environmental pollutants and so-called obesogens—including pesticides, plastics, and heavy metals—can disrupt the microbiota–gut–metabolism axis, affecting metabolic and hormonal functions and increasing the risk of obesity development.

Integration of ecological, microbiological, and medical knowledge within the framework of the “soil-to-gut” concept and the One Health paradigm emphasizes the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems to preserve human microbial balance and prevent metabolic disorders. Current evidence suggests that natural environment degradation, loss of microbial diversity, and reduced exposure to environmental microorganisms may constitute a significant factor driving the obesity epidemic.

Keywords: biodiversity; environment; gut microbiota; obesity

How to cite

Białowąs P., Białowąs W., 2026. From soil to gut: environmental degradation as a potential driver of the obesity epidemic. In: 5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.E003