A new study reported in the journal, Cell Reports, shows Americans lack diversity when it comes to gut bacteria. 

Researchers discovered this being likely due to the fact that Americans have better sanitation and access to cleaner drinking water.

Those in lesser developed nations posess more types of bacteria, subjecting them to an increased risk of infection, as shown in the study comparing rural areas of Papua New Guinea and the United States.

Papua New Guinea is one of the least urbanized nations in the world, the researchers explained. People from that country who were included in the study have a traditional, agriculture-based lifestyle.

​This research increases the importance of how clean sanitation and drinking water play a role in bacteria development. 

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Bacteria naturally reside in the intestines and play an important role in health, but recent research has shown that a modern -- or western -- lifestyle reduces the diversity of these bacteria.

The results from this study may lead researchers to understand diseases that form or are tied to the western lifestyle.