Scientists have created a new tool that can predict the risk of being obese in adulthood.
The test can help identify children and adolescents who can benefit from targeted prevention strategies such as diet and exercise at a young age.
The new experiment, which analyzes DNA from a blood sample, is thought to be twice as effective in predicting obesity as the best previous test.
In addition to identifying children at the risk of obesity, it can also predict that obese adults will respond to targeted weight loss programs.
“What makes this privilege is very powerful is the ability to predict it before the age of five, whether the child is likely to cause obesity in adulthood, before other risk factors later begin to shape their weight in childhood. Intervention at this stage can have a great impact.” Nature medicineHuman
The World Obesity Federation expects more than half of the global population to become overweight or obese by 2035.
In the UK, approximately 65 percent of adults over 18 are overweight or obese, while NHS is said to be obese in the UK.
However, there are ways to deal with obesity, including diet, exercise, surgery and medicine, these options are not always available and not working for everyone.
Research for this study involves collaborating with Consumer and Research Genetics of 23andme and the help of more than 600 scientists from 500 institutions worldwide. Traits such as human height and body mass index are listed and collected in the data.
Experts say the subtle changes in our genetics can affect our health, including the likelihood of obesity and even our appetite.
The polygenic risk score is like a calculator that combines the effects of the different types of risk that the person carries and offers the overall score.
To score, scientists have drawn genetic data more than five million people – the largest and most varied genetic dataset ever ever. They then tested the new risk score for obesity in the physical and genetic characteristics of more than 500,000 people.
“This new polygenic score is a significant progress in predictable and jumping power in genetic prediction, which brings us closer to useful clinical genetic testing,” said Professor Ruth Los at CBMR University.
This relationship evaluated the relationship between one’s genetic risk of obesity and the impact of lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise.
Scientists found that people who had a higher genetic risk than obesity were more responsive to interventions, but they also rapidly increased their weight after the interventions ended.
However, the new experiment has its own limitations. Despite the genetics of the global population, obesity predictions in people with European ancestors were far better than those with African ancestors.
