Newly identified obesity loci associated with general obesity in a healthy Dutch female population
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Common obesity is a polygenic condition interacting with environmental factors. Recent reports indicate that new genetic loci, mostly expressed in the brain (e.g. the hypothalamus), contribute to the development of obesity. The study aimed to investigate whether these loci were associated with measures of abdominal obesity. Another aim of the study was to assess whether these variants impacted on caloric or macronutrient intake. A total of 1700 Dutch women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) were included in the analysis. The association between genotypes of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), adiposity measures and dietary intake were analyzed using a linear regression model. Seven SNPs were associated with weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference, whereas five SNPs were associated with dietary intake. These study findings suggest that the new genetic loci are not specifically associated with abdominal obesity but more generally with obesity. Another finding arising from the study was that some of the SNPs were associated with macronutrient-specific food intake.
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