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Title: Vigorous Physical Activity Reduces Obesity Risk in Genetically Predisposed
URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/22B91A.htm
Doctor's Guide
September 9, 2008

CHICAGO -- September 09, 2008 -- Individuals who have a genetic mutation associated with high body mass index (BMI) may be able to offset their increased risk for obesity through vigorous physical activity, according to a study in the September 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Evadnie Rampersaud, PhD, formerly of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, and currently at the University of Miami, Miami, Florida, and colleagues analysed DNA samples of 704 healthy Amish adults (average age 43.6 years, 53% male) recruited from 2003 to 2007. Participants also underwent a series of physiological tests, including a 7-day measurement of physical activity using an accelerometer.

A total of 54% of the men and 63.7% of the women were overweight, and 10.1% of the men and 30.5% of the women were obese. In the genetic analysis, 26 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene were associated with BMI.

The researchers then divided participants into 2 groups based on their physical activity levels and assessed the relationship between BMI and the 2 strongest SNPs. Both SNPs were associated with BMI only in individuals who had low physical activity scores for their age and sex; the SNPs had no effect on the BMI of those with above-average physical activity scores.

"Activity levels in the 'high-activity' stratum were approximately 900 calories higher than in the 'low-activity' stratum, which, depending on body size, corresponds to about 3 to 4 hours of moderately intensive physical activity, such as brisk walking, house cleaning, or gardening," the authors explain.

"We provide quantitative data to show that the weight increase resulting from the presence of these SNPs is much smaller and not statistically significant in subjects who are very physically active.

"This finding offers some clues to the mechanism by which [the] FTO [gene] influences changes in BMI and may have important implications in targeting personalised lifestyle recommendations to prevent obesity in genetically susceptible individuals," they conclude.


SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine

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