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Genetics of pediatric obesity
Melania Manco1, Bruno Dallapiccola
1FACN, Scientific Directorate, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Istituto Di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Rome, Italy. melania.manco@opbg.net
Pediatrics
|June 6, 2012
Summary
Childhood obesity is a complex genetic and lifestyle condition. Advances in genetic testing, including next-generation sequencing, offer hope for early risk prediction and personalized prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric genomics
- Obesity research
- Personalized medicine
Background:
- Childhood obesity prevalence is rising globally, influenced by lifestyle and genetics.
- Genetic testing holds promise for personalized obesity risk assessment and prevention.
- Direct-to-consumer genetic tests for obesity risk are increasingly available.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide pediatricians with an update on the genomics of childhood obesity.
- To discuss discrepancies between adult and pediatric obesity genomics.
- To review advances in genetic technologies for obesity risk prediction.
Main Methods:
- Appraisal of genome-wide association studies in pediatric populations.
- Discussion of rare variant-common disease vs. common disease-common variant hypotheses.
- Exploration of next-generation sequencing and epigenetics in obesity.
Main Results:
- Next-generation sequencing may explain the 'missing heritability' of obesity by identifying rare variants.
- Epigenetics plays a role in obesity heritability.
- Pediatric obesity is a complex phenotype influenced by gene-environment interactions during critical developmental periods.
Conclusions:
- Genomic approaches are crucial for understanding and predicting pediatric obesity.
- Early prediction tools incorporating genomics and exposomics are needed.
- Personalized strategies are essential for preventing childhood and adult obesity.
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