Gene-Diet Interactions and Obesity Indices

Abstract

Obesity and overweight status is growing rapidly worldwide. Although there have been enormous advances in explaining the genetic basis of obesity in recent years, the pathways that lead to a high body weight are still not fully understood. Interactions between genetic and environmental factors, including nutrient exposures and dietary behaviors, can influence the development of obesity. Specifically, genes play a decisive role under the permissive circumstances of an obesogenic environment (increase in energy intake with a decrease in physical activity). Given the many factors that influence obesity, as well as the dynamic nature of this health problem (weight gain, weight loss, weight maintenance, variability in body composition), genomic tools have been used to evaluate all possible contributions of genes to the obesity problem. In this report, we present recently discovered gene-diet interaction studies in human obesity. Although existing literature in this specific area is fairly limited, various investigations utilizing large cohorts corroborate the potential for personalized interventions that take into account genetic patterns. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.