Can genetic-based advice help you lose weight? Findings from the Food4Me European randomized controlled trial

Celis-Morales, C., Marsaux, C. F. M., Livingstone, K. M., Navas-Carretero, S., San-Cristobal, R., Fallaize, R., Macready, A. L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0368-9336, O'Donovan, C., Woolhead, C., Forster, H., Kolossa, S., Daniel, H., Moschonis, G., Mavrogianni, C., Manios, Y., Surwillo, A., Traczyk, I., Drevon, C. A., Grimaldi, K., Bouwman, J., Gibney, M. J., Walsh, M. C., Gibney, E. R., Brennan, L., Lovegrove, J. A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7633-9455, Martinez, J. A., Saris, W. H. M. and Mathers, J. C. (2017) Can genetic-based advice help you lose weight? Findings from the Food4Me European randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 105 (5). pp. 1204-1213. ISSN 1938-3207 doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.145680

Abstract/Summary

Background: There has been limited evidence about whether genotype-tailored advice provides extra benefits in reducing obesity-related traits compared with the benefits of conventional one-size-fits-all advice.Objective: We determined whether the disclosure of information on fat-mass and obesity-associated (FTO) genotype risk had a greater effect on a reduction of obesity-related traits in risk carriers than in nonrisk carriers across different levels of personalized nutrition.Design: A total of 683 participants (women: 51%; age range: 18-73 y) from the Food4Me randomized controlled trial were included in this analysis. Participants were randomly assigned to 4 intervention arms as follows: level 0, control group; level 1, dietary group; level 2, phenotype group; and level 3, genetic group. FTO (single nucleotide polymorphism rs9939609) was genotyped at baseline in all participants, but only subjects who were randomly assigned to level 3 were informed about their genotypes. Level 3 participants were stratified into risk carriers (AA/AT) and nonrisk carriers (TT) of the FTO gene for analyses. Height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) were self-measured and reported at baseline and months 3 and 6.Results: Changes in adiposity markers were greater in participants who were informed that they carried the FTO risk allele (level 3 AT/AA carriers) than in the nonpersonalized group (level 0) but not in the other personalized groups (level 1 and 2). Mean reductions in weight and WC at month 6 were greater for FTO risk carriers than for noncarriers in the level 3 group [-2.28 kg (95% CI: -3.06, -1.48 kg) compared with -1.99 kg (-2.19, -0.19 kg), respectively (P = 0.037); and -4.34 cm (-5.63, -3.08 cm) compared with -1.99 cm (-4.04, -0.05 cm), respectively, (P = 0.048)].Conclusions: There are greater body weight and WC reductions in risk carriers than in nonrisk carriers of the FTO gene.