DNA test to spot children at weight risk
Thursday March 27th, 2014
A simple DNA test could be used to predict which five-year-old children will put on weight, researchers have revealed.
The
test identifies genetic activity affecting the PGC1a gene, which controls
the storage of fat in the body.
According to the researchers from the universities at Southampton, Exeter and Plymouth, the test identifies epigenetic changes - permanent alterations to genetic mechanisms through a process called DNA methylation.
Childhood obesity has been linked to a number of factors, including family lifestyle and influences during pregnancy.
They found that a 10% increase in DNA methylation at the age of five was linked to 12% extra body fat when a child was 14 years old.
The findings come from the journal Diabetes.
The research involved 40 children in Plymouth, Devon, UK.
Researcher Dr Graham Burdge, from Southampton, said: "It can be difficult to predict when children are very young, which children will put on weight or become obese. It is important to know which children are at risk because help, such as suggestions about their diet, can be offered early and before they start to gain weight.
"The results of our study provide further evidence that being overweight or obese in childhood is not just due to lifestyle, but may also involve important basic processes that control our genes.
"We hope that this knowledge will help us to develop and test new ways to prevent children developing obesity which can be introduced before a child starts to gain excess weight."
Peroxisomal proliferator activated receptor-?-co-activator-1? promoter methylation in blood at 5–7 years predicts adiposity from 9 to 14 years (EarlyBird 50) Diabetes 12 March 2014; doi: 10.2337/db13-0671 [abstract]
Tags: Child Health | Diet & Food | Fitness | Genetics | UK News
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