Contribution of obesity associated genetic variants to anthropometric somatotype components

The somatotype is a useful method in the analysis of body morphology but no study has identified genetic variants associated with its components. The aim of this study is o replicate the association of 21 SNPs with obesity and to explore their association with the somatotype components, in a sample from the Basque Country (Spain). A case-control study was performed in 472 adults from 18 to 79 years old. A literature search was conducted in PubMed to select genetic variants associated with obesity in European derived populations. After the quality control of the chosen variants, 21 SNPs were finally used to conduct association analyses. Logistic and linear regressions implemented in PLINK (v1.07) were used to assess the association between SNPs and the somatotype. Two genetic variants (rs925946 in BDNF and rs10146997 in NRXN3) showed a significant association with endomorphy (p < 0.01) while rs10146997 (in NRXN3) and rs9939609 (in FTO) were associated with mesomorphy (p < 0.01). rs925946 (in BDNF), rs10146997 (in NRXN3), rs9939609 (in FTO) and rs4776970 (in MAP2K5) were associated with ectomorphy (p < 0.05). In conclusion, four genetic variants (in or near BDNF, NRXN3, MAP2K5 and FTO) contribute to body shape and composition in the analysed sample.