A large international collaborative study has
identified at least two new gene variants that increase the risk of common
childhood obesity.
An
international collaborative study conducted by the Early Growth Genetics (EGG)
Consortium has identified at least two new gene variants that increase the risk
of common childhood obesity.
The
study, to date the largest ever genome-wide analysis of common childhood
obesity, involved 5,530 cases of childhood obesity and 8,300 control subjects
of normal weight, all of European ancestry.
In the
latest online issue of Nature Genetics, the researchers identified
two novel loci associated with common childhood obesity, one near the OLFM4
gene on chromosome 13 and the other within the HOXB5 gene on chromosome 17.
Two
other gene variants were also found to be linked to obesity, and none of the
four gene loci were previously implicated in common childhood obesity.
“Previous
studies have focused on more extreme forms of obesity primarily connected with
rare disease syndromes, while this study includes a broader range of children,”
said Associate Professor Craig Pennell of the University of Western Australia.
“We have identified and characterized two new genetic variants that are
associated with a predisposition to common childhood obesity.”
Established
research indicates that obese adolescents tend to have a higher risk of
mortality when they are adults. Although environmental factors, such as food
choices and sedentary habits, contribute to the increasing rates of obesity in
childhood, twin studies and other family-based evidence have suggested a
genetic component as well.
While
previous studies have identified gene variants contributing to obesity in
adults and in children with extreme obesity, relatively little is known about
genes implicated in regular childhood obesity.
“This
work opens up new avenues to explore the genetics of childhood obesity,”
Pennell said. “A great deal of work remains, however, these findings may
ultimately be useful in helping to design preventive interventions and
treatments for children, based on their individual genomes.”
The
article can be found at: Bradfield
(2012) A Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis Identifies New Childhood Obesity
Loci.
Source: University of Western Australia.
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