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. 2006 Jun;1(2):e12.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pctr.0010012. Epub 2006 Jun 30.

Genetic polymorphisms and weight loss in obesity: a randomised trial of hypo-energetic high- versus low-fat diets

Affiliations

Genetic polymorphisms and weight loss in obesity: a randomised trial of hypo-energetic high- versus low-fat diets

Thorkild I A Sørensen et al. PLoS Clin Trials. 2006 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: To study if genes with common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with obesity-related phenotypes influence weight loss (WL) in obese individuals treated by a hypo-energetic low-fat or high-fat diet.

Design: Randomised, parallel, two-arm, open-label multi-centre trial.

Setting: Eight clinical centres in seven European countries.

Participants: 771 obese adult individuals.

Interventions: 10-wk dietary intervention to hypo-energetic (-600 kcal/d) diets with a targeted fat energy of 20%-25% or 40%-45%, completed in 648 participants.

Outcome measures: WL during the 10 wk in relation to genotypes of 42 SNPs in 26 candidate genes, probably associated with hypothalamic regulation of appetite, efficiency of energy expenditure, regulation of adipocyte differentiation and function, lipid and glucose metabolism, or production of adipocytokines, determined in 642 participants.

Results: Compared with the noncarriers of each of the SNPs, and after adjusting for gender, age, baseline weight and centre, heterozygotes showed WL differences that ranged from -0.6 to 0.8 kg, and homozygotes, from -0.7 to 3.1 kg. Genotype-dependent additional WL on low-fat diet ranged from 1.9 to -1.6 kg in heterozygotes, and from 3.8 kg to -2.1 kg in homozygotes relative to the noncarriers. Considering the multiple testing conducted, none of the associations was statistically significant.

Conclusions: Polymorphisms in a panel of obesity-related candidate genes play a minor role, if any, in modulating weight changes induced by a moderate hypo-energetic low-fat or high-fat diet.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Patient Flow in the Trial

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