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Does a short breastfeeding period protect from FTO-induced adiposity in children?

George V Z Dedoussis1, Mary Yannakoulia, Nicholas J Timpson

  • 1Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece. dedousi@hua.gr

International Journal of Pediatric Obesity : IJPO : an Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
|September 25, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Breastfeeding may modify the link between the FTO gene variant and obesity in Greek children, but this effect was not seen in British children. This suggests a potential protective role of breastfeeding against genetic predisposition to obesity.

Area of Science:

  • Genetics and Epigenetics
  • Pediatric Health
  • Nutritional Epidemiology

Background:

  • Common genetic variants, including the fat mass and obesity associated locus (FTO), are linked to obesity.
  • The role of environmental factors, such as breastfeeding, in modulating these genetic associations is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether breastfeeding mediates the association between FTO gene variants and obesity indices in pediatric cohorts.
  • To explore potential gene-environment interactions between FTO and breastfeeding in relation to body fatness.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of three independent pediatric cohorts (two Greek, one British) with genetic data and anthropometric measurements.
  • Genotyping of specific FTO variants (rs9939609 and rs17817449) and assessment of breastfeeding history.
  • Multivariate regression models incorporating breastfeeding as an interaction term with FTO variants.

Main Results:

  • A significant association between the FTO gene variant (rs9939609) and obesity indices (BMI, waist circumference, skinfolds) was observed in Greek cohorts.
  • Including breastfeeding (one month) as an interaction term attenuated or abolished these FTO-obesity associations in the Greek samples.
  • No significant interaction between FTO variants and breastfeeding on obesity indices was found in the British cohort.

Conclusions:

  • Breastfeeding may play a modifying role in the relationship between FTO gene variants and adiposity in Greek children.
  • These findings highlight a potential gene-environment interaction but require replication, as they were not observed in the British cohort.
Abstract

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