Genes & Obesity
Obesity is an imbalance in the energy used versus the energy consumed, which may lead the body to chronic Inflammation and many metabolic syndromes.
There are several factors that may result in the formation of obesity such as having a sedentary lifestyle with minimum or no activity level. Consuming a low-quality diet that is low in fruits and vegetables, and high saturated fats intake may increase the risk for obesity. Another factor that that could be associated with obesity is genetic predisposition.
According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although more than 50 genes have been found in humans which may have an impact on obesity, it is rare that this condition develops as a result of familial inheritance.1 Some genes that are commonly known to play a role in this condition are the FTO gene, AdipoQ, and the LEP gene.1
So, what IS the relationship between Obesity and Genes?
The brain regulates our food intake by responding to signals received from our adipose (fat) tissue, pancreas, and digestive tract. 2 These signals are transmitted by hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, and insulin which the brain then translates into either eating more and reducing energy use or eating less and increasing energy use. 2 This process is controlled by our genes. 2 Any changes in these genes may affect the regulation of this process, which then disturbs the homeostasis of this system resulting in metabolic syndromes.2
The question here is.. WHY is this important?
it is important because environmental factors such as diet and exercise may play a role in altering our genes!
Based on a cohort study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that examined whether dietary quality has an association between genes and body mass index (BMI); found that people who consumed a high diet quality has less genetic susceptibility that led to obesity.3 Diet quality scores was assessed for BMI using 3 diet scores which are Alternative Mediterranean Diet Score (AMED), Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI), and the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH).3
According to another study4 that analyzed the relationship between physical activity and genes, found that increased physical activity in people who carry a certain genotype of the “FTO” gene reduced their risk of obesity onset by two times comparing to those who carried the same gene and did not exercise regularly.4
These findings highlight the importance of healthy eating and increasing physical activity levels in reducing the risk of developing obesity in the long run.
References
1. Public Health Genomics and Precision Health Knowledge Base. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Updates May 5, 2021. Accessed May 7, 2021. https://phgkb.cdc.gov/PHGKB/hNHome.action.
2. Roh E, Kim MS. Brain Regulation of Energy Metabolism. Endocrinol Metab (Seoul). 2016;31(4):519-524.doi:10.3803/EnM.2016.31.4.519
3. Ming Ding, Christina Ellervik, Tao Huang, Majken K Jensen, et al. Diet quality and genetic association with body mass index: results from 3 observational studies, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 108, Issue 6, December 2018, Pages 1291–1300, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy203
4. Cho HW, Jin HS, Eom YB. The interaction between FTO rs9939609 and physical activity is associated with a 2-fold reduction in the risk of obesity in Korean population. Am J Hum Biol. 2020 Aug 31:e23489. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23489. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32865273.