Future management of human obesity: understanding the meaning of genetic susceptibility

Abstract

Gene-environment interactions are central to the expression of obesity. The condition is strongly heritable (ie, genetic), and most of the variation in obesity levels between countries and between individuals can be explained by the effects of obesogenic environments on individual genetic susceptibilities. The nature of the obesogenic environmental influences is not clear in detail, but they correlate closely with measures of affluence. The causes of variation in genetic susceptibility are also not clearly defined, but their general nature has become clearer. The failure of genome-wide association studies or large linkage studies to identify or replicate causative genetic variants, together with the segregation of obesity-related traits in families, implicates a heterogenetic mechanism in which rare, dominantly or additively expressed genetic variants are responsible for most of common obesity. The search for rare causative variants continues with some successes, but those identified contribute very little to the overall burden and, assuming heterogenetics, there are many more to find. The time when genomic risk factors provide more information than do currently available markers, such as family history, is a long way off. Genomic studies to date have contributed little, if anything, to the prevention and treatment of common obesity and its associated disorders. This contrasts with the obvious and immediate potential implications of the well-established overall genetic basis of obesity, which have not yet been exploited in the clinical or public health arenas. Genomic studies, which have helped to define the genetic basis of common obesity mainly by exclusion, will in the future play an increasingly important role in understanding and managing obesity, but only with parallel studies of the physiological, behavioral, and economic influences. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Jenkins, A. & Campbell, L. (2014). Future management of human obesity: understanding the meaning of genetic susceptibility. Advances in Genomics and Genetics, 4 219-232. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/2772