Obesity is a growing problem in today’s society. We plan to use Synthetic Biology to engineer a novel treatment for obesity: engineering E. coli into a “sugar sponge” that will absorb excess carbohydrates, before they can be taken up in the human intestines.

In addition to reducing the caloric load, future modifications to the bacteria may allow the use of the sequestered monosaccharides to produce useful products such as bacterial cellulose, thus providing supplementary dietary fibre with additional health benefits.

Our engineered bacteria will be of use to obese people who have tried dietary approaches to weight loss and failed to see results. It may also be of use to patients who need to lose weight before surgery. Our project explored two ways of delivering the bacteria: they can either be taken in the form of a pill or in a probiotic yoghurt drink. We carried out a series of surveys to determine consumer preferences and attitudes that would determine the best delivery format.

At the same time, we collected data on public opinion regarding body weight, weight control, and our project, including attitudes on synthetic biology and genetic modification, which informed our in-depth analysis of obesity and its treatment from the perspective of social scientists. The resulting sociological insights not only directed the genetic engineering strategies within our project, but also provided general guidelines on how to improve the communication of Synthetic Biology approaches in the context of complex biological, medical and social problems.