Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: a meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children.
PLoS Medicine 2011 ; 8: e1001116.
Kilpeläinen TO, Qi L, Brage S, Sharp SJ, Sonestedt E, Demerath E, Ahmad T, Mora S, Kaakinen M, Sandholt CH, Holzapfel C, Autenrieth CS, Hyppönen E, Cauchi S, He M, Kutalik Z, Kumari M, Stančáková A, Meidtner K, Balkau B, Tan JT, Mangino M, Timpson NJ, Song Y, Zillikens MC, Jablonski KA, Garcia ME, Johansson S, Bragg-Gresham JL, Wu Y, Van Vliet-Ostaptchouk JV, Onland-Moret NC, Zimmermann E, Rivera NV, Tanaka T, Stringham HM, Silbernagel G, Kanoni S, Feitosa MF, Snitker S, Ruiz JR, Metter J, Larrad MT, Atalay M, Hakanen M, Amin N, Cavalcanti-Proença C, Grøntved A, Hallmans G, Jansson JO, Kuusisto J, Kähönen M, Lutsey PL, Nolan JJ, Palla L, Pedersen O, Pérusse L, Renstrom F, Scott RA, Shungin D, Sovio U, Tammelin TH, Rönnemaa T, Lakka TA, Uusitupa M, Rios MS, Ferrucci L, Bouchard C, Meirhaeghe A, Fu M, Walker M, Borecki IB, Dedoussis GV, Fritsche A, Ohlsson C, Boehnke M, Bandinelli S, van Duijn CM, Ebrahim S, Lawlor DA, Gudnason V, Harris TB, Sørensen TI, Mohlke KL, Hofman A, Uitterlinden AG, Tuomilehto J, Lehtimäki T, Raitakari O, Isomaa B, Njølstad PR, Florez JC, Liu S, Ness A, Spector TD, Tai ES, Froguel P, Boeing H, Laakso M, Marmot M, Bergmann S, Power C, Khaw KT, Chasman D, Ridker P, Hansen T, Monda KL, Illig T, Järvelin MR, Wareham NJ, Hu FB, Groop LC, Orho-Melander M, Ekelund U, Franks PW, Loos RJ
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001116
PubMed ID : 22069379
PMCID : PMC3206047
Abstract
The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n = 218,166) and nine studies of children and adolescents (n = 19,268).
All studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r(2)>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A-) allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (p(interaction) = 0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36). No such interaction was found in children and adolescents.
The association of the FTO risk allele with the odds of obesity is attenuated by 27% in physically active adults, highlighting the importance of PA in particular in those genetically predisposed to obesity.