FTO genotype is associated with body mass index and waist circumference in Mexican young adults

Margarita Teran-Garcia, Itzel Vazquez-Vidal, Flavia C. D. Andrade, Michelle Mosley, Eduardo Medina-Cerda, Celia Aradillas-Garcia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Champaign, USA.
Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Champaign, USA.
Health Center, University Autonomous of San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
School of Medicine, University Autonomous of San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

DOI: 10.4236/ojgen.2013.31005                

Abstract

Individual variations in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene have been associated with obesity and BMI in diverse populations, but there are no reports in young Mexicans. We explored the association of a common FTO single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, rs805704) with obesity-related phenotypes in Mexican young adults. The FTO-SNP was genotyped using the fluorescent polarization method in college-age, apparently healthy subjects from the “UP AMIGOS” cohort (n = 251, 18 - 25 yrs). Homozygotes for the A allele (15%, n = 38) were heavier (1.6 kg/m² and6.2 kg) and had a larger waist circumference (WC,4.8 cm) than G allele carriers. The FTO genotype was associated with BMI, weight and WC independently of age and sex and explained 2.7 to 3.1% of the variance in obesity-related phenotypes. The FTO genotype was also associated with fasting glucose (P = 0.0283). No other associations were found in the additive model. Despite our small sample size, we found that the FTO-rs805704 genotype influences obesity-related phenotypes young Mexicans. Previously observed FTO associations with fasting glucose were replicated. Previously reported associations with other metabolic traits likely represent the long-term consequences of obesity.

Keywords

FTO; Obesity; Genetic Risk; Young; Mexicans

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Frayling, T.M., et al. (2007) A common variant in the FTO gene is associated with body mass index and predisposes to childhood and adult obesity. Science, 316, 889-894. doi:10.1126/science.1141634
[2]	Peng, S., Zhu, Y., Xu, F., Ren, X., Li, X. and Lai, M. (2011) FTO gene polymorphisms and obesity risk: A meta-analysis. BMC Medicine, 9, 71. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-9-71
[3]	Kilpelainen, T.O., et al. (2011) Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: A metaanalysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children. PLoS Medicine, 8, e1001116. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001116
[4]	Lear, S.A., Deng, W.Q., Pare, G., Sulistyoningrum, D.C., Loos, R.J. and Devlin, A. (2011) Associations of the FTO rs9939609 variant with discrete body fat depots and dietary intake in a multi-ethnic cohort. Genetics Research, 93, 419-426. doi:10.1017/S001667231100036X
[5]	Loos, R.J. (2009) Recent progress in the genetics of common obesity. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 68, 811-829. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2009.03523.x
[6]	Li, H., et al. (2011) Association of genetic variation in FTO with risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes with data from 96,551 East and South Asians. Diabetologia, 55, 981-995. doi:10.1007/s00125-011-2370-7
[7]	Wardle, J., Carnell, S., Haworth, C.M., Farooqi, I.S., O'Rahilly, S. and Plomin, R. (2008) Obesity associated genetic variation in FTO is associated with diminished satiety. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 93, 3640-3643. doi:10.1210/jc.2008-0472
[8]	Hertel, J.K., et al. (2011) FTO, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain throughout adult life: A meta-analysis of 41,504 subjects from the Scandinavian HUNT, MDC, and MPP studies. Diabetes, 60, 1637-1644. doi:10.2337/db10-1340
[9]	Wing, M.R., et al. (2011) Analysis of FTO gene variants with obesity and glucose homeostasis measures in the multiethnic Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study cohort. International Journal of Obesity, 35, 1173-1182. doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.244
[10]	Villalobos-Comparan, M., et al. (2008) The FTO gene is associated with adulthood obesity in the Mexican population. Obesity, 16, 2296-2301. doi:10.1038/oby.2008.367
[11]	Jowett, J.B., et al. (2010) Genetic variation at the FTO locus influences RBL2 gene expression. Diabetes, 59, 726-732. doi:10.2337/db09-1277
[12]	Andrade, F.C., Raffaelli, M., Teran-Garcia, M., Jerman, J.A. and Garcia, C.A. (2011) Weight status misperception among Mexican young adults. Body Image, 9, 184-188. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2011.10.006
[13]	Alberti, K.G., et al. (2009) Harmonizing the metabolic syndrome: A joint interim statement of the International Diabetes Federation Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; American Heart Association; World Heart Federation; International Atherosclerosis Society; and International Association for the Study of Obesity. Circulation, 120, 1640-1645. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.192644
[14]	Kwok, P.Y. (2002) SNP genotyping with fluorescence polarization detection. Human Mutation, 19, 315-323. doi:10.1002/humu.10058
[15]	Jacobsson, J.A., Riserus, U., Axelsson, T., Lannfelt, L., Schioth, H.B. and Fredriksson, R. (2009) The common FTO variant rs9939609 is not associated with BMI in a longitudinal study on a cohort of Swedish men born 1920-1924. BMC Medical Genetics, 10, 131. doi:10.1186/1471-2350-10-131
[16]	Li, H., Wu, Y., Loos, R.J., Hu, F.B., Liu, Y., Wang, J., Yu, Z. and Lin, X. (2008) Variants in the fat massand obesity-associated (FTO) gene are not associated with obesity in a Chinese Han population. Diabetes, 57, 264-268. doi:10.2337/db07-1130
[17]	Hardy, R., Wills, A.K., Wong, A., Elks, C.E., Wareham, N.J., Loos, R.J., Kuh, D. and Ong, K.K. (2009) Life course variations in the associations between FTO and MC4R gene variants and body size. Human Molecular Genetics, 19, 545-552. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddp504
[18]	Jess, T., et al. (2008) Impact on weight dynamics and general growth of the common FTO rs9939609: A longitudinal Danish cohort study. International Journal of Obesity, 32, 1388-1394. doi:10.1038/ijo.2008.110
[19]	Toperoff, G., Aran, D., Kark, J.D., Rosenberg, M., Dubnikov, T., Nissan, B., Wainstein, J., Friedlander, Y., Levy-Lahad, E., Glaser, B. and Hellman, A. (2012) Genome-wide survey reveals predisposing diabetes type 2-related DNA methylation variations in human peripheral blood. Human Molecular Genetics, 21, 371-383. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddr472
[20]	Ahmad, T., Lee, I.M., Pare, G., Chasman, D.I., Rose, L., Ridker, P.M. and Mora, S. (2011) Lifestyle interaction with fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) genotype and risk of obesity in apparently healthy US women. Diabetes Care, 34, 675-680. doi:10.2337/dc10-0948
[21]	Vimaleswaran, K.S., et al. (2012) Association between FTO variant and change in body weight and its interaction with dietary factors: The DiOGenes study. Obesity, 20, 1669-1674. doi:10.1038/oby.2012.49
[22]	Galbete, C., Toledo, J., Martinez-Gonzalez, M.A., Martinez, J.A., Guillen-Grima, F. and Marti, A. (2012) Lifestyle factors modify obesity risk linked to PPARG2 and FTO variants in an elderly population: A cross-sectional analysis in the SUN Project. Genes Nutrition, 8, 61-67.