Abstract
BackgroundOur goal was to analyze the association of the fat mass and obesity- associated (FTO) gene rs9939609 variant (T/A) with the anthropometric and dietary intake phenotypes related to obesity in Brazilian children.MethodsWe analyzed the association of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with phenotypes related to the accumulation of body mass in a cohort of 348 children followed from the time of birth until 8 years old and then replicated the main findings in an independent schoolchildren sample (n = 615).ResultsAt the age of 4, we observed a significant association between the A/A genotype and a higher mean BMI Z-score (P = 0.036). At the age of 8, the A/A individuals still presented with a higher BMI Z-score (P = 0.011) and with marginal differences in the volume of subcutaneous fat (P = 0.048). We replicated these findings in the schoolchildren sample, which showed that those with at least one copy of the A allele presented with a higher BMI Z-score (P = 0.029) and volume of subcutaneous fat (P = 0.016).ConclusionOur results indicate that this FTO variant is associated with increased body mass and subcutaneous fat in Brazilian children beginning at the age of 4.
Highlights
Our goal was to analyze the association of the fat mass and obesity- associated (FTO) gene rs9939609 variant (T/A) with the anthropometric and dietary intake phenotypes related to obesity in Brazilian children
In the present study, we confirmed the association of the FTO variant rs9939609 with body mass index and related phenotypes in Brazilian children and adolescents
The frequency of the minor (A) allele found in Brazilian children was 40%, similar to those reported in European cohorts of children and adolescents [3,21,23] and similar to those reported for Brazilian adults from the same geographic region as ours [24,25]
Summary
Our goal was to analyze the association of the fat mass and obesity- associated (FTO) gene rs9939609 variant (T/A) with the anthropometric and dietary intake phenotypes related to obesity in Brazilian children. Childhood obesity is an increasing public health problem all over the world, including many low- and middle-income countries. This complex disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality; a higher risk of obesity is associated with premature death and disability in adulthood. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.6 billion adults (aged 15 years and older) were overweight and 400 million were obese in 2005. By 2015, these figures are predicted to rise to 2.3 billion overweight adults and over 700 million obese adults [1]. In addition to environmental factors, genetic factors clearly contribute to obesity-related phenotypes, with heritability estimates ranging from over 50% to 60% for body mass index (BMI) [2]
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