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. 2018 Feb 20:13:4.
doi: 10.1186/s12263-018-0593-7. eCollection 2018.

FTO genotype, dietary protein intake, and body weight in a multiethnic population of young adults: a cross-sectional study

David C Merritt #  1 , Joseph Jamnik #  1 , Ahmed El-Sohemy  1
Affiliations

FTO genotype, dietary protein intake, and body weight in a multiethnic population of young adults: a cross-sectional study

David C Merritt et al. Genes Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: Variation in the fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) has been associated with susceptibility to obesity, but the association appears to be modified by diet. We investigated whether dietary protein intake modifies the association between FTO variant rs1558902 and body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference in young adults (n = 1491) from the cross-sectional Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health Study.

Results: Lifestyle, genetic, anthropometric, and biochemical data were collected and diet was assessed using a Toronto-modified Willett Food Frequency Questionnaire. General linear models stratified by ethnicity and adjusted for age, sex, and total energy intake were used to examine the association between FTO genotypes and measures of body weight, and whether protein intake modified any of the associations. East Asians who were homozygous for the rs1558902 risk allele (A) had a greater BMI (p = 0.004) and waist circumference (p = 0.03) than T allele carriers. This association was not observed in individuals of Caucasian or South Asian ancestry. Among East Asians, a significant FTO-protein interaction was observed for BMI (p = 0.01) and waist circumference (p = 0.007). Those with low protein intake (≤ 18% total energy intake) who were homozygous for the rs1558902 risk allele (A) had significantly higher BMI (p < 0.0001) and waist circumference (p = 0.0006) compared to carriers of the T allele. These associations were absent in the high protein intake group (> 18% total energy intake). Compared to Caucasians and South Asians, East Asians consumed a significantly higher ratio of animal-to-plant protein (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that high dietary protein intake may protect against the effects of risk variants in the FTO gene on BMI and waist circumference.

Keywords: BMI; Diet; FTO; Nutrigenomics; Obesity; Protein; Weight loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study, and the study protocol was approved by the Ethics Review Board at the University of Toronto.Not applicable.AE-S holds shares in Nutrigenomix Inc., a genetic testing company for personalized nutrition. DCM and JJ declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Ratio of animal-to-plant protein intake across ethnocultural groups. Differences in the ratio of animal-to-plant protein intake between groups were compared using GLMs adjusted for age and sex. Groups without a common superscript letter differ after a Tukey-Kramer post hoc test (p < 0.05)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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