According to a study jointly by the University of Galway and Brunel University London and published by The Print, patients with severe and challenging obesity responded differently to a nutritional weight control program.
During the GERONIMO study, patients at Galway University Hospital obesity clinic were subjected to a brief, severe program of medically supervised calorie restriction. Obesity has been linked to an increase in death and morbidity rates globally in recent years, leading to the broad acknowledgment of obesity as a significant, chronic health concern.
Chronic illnesses, particularly obesity, are the leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide. Obesity-related health problems continue despite advances in prevention and treatment.
Changes in many genes associated with obesity might be thoroughly investigated. We generated a “genetic risk score” for six obesity-related variables by aggregating data on these SNPs.The clinical trial was overseen by Prof. Francis Finucane, Consultant Endocrinologist at Galway University Hospitals and senior lecturer at the University of Galway.
Mechanistic studies like these are crucial for developing more effective and personalized obesity treatments because they explain why some people respond better than others to the same intervention. Although “genetics” and heredity have a role in determining a person’s weight and risk of illnesses such as diabetes, finding the genes responsible for obesity and its related risks has proven difficult.
According to Alex Blakemore, a professor of human genomics at Brunel University in London, “Because no one can modify their genes, we must accept that some people are more prone than others to struggle to maintain a healthy weight. This study does not detail how our genes help or impede our attempts to enhance our health.”
Three hundred people agreed to take part in the GERONIMO study. They were continuously monitored while they engaged in a meal replacement program. Their average BMI at the start of the experiment was 52 kg m-2, which was significantly beyond their suggested maximum limit.
By the conclusion of the 24 weeks, a total of 21 kilos (16 percent) of beginning body weight had been lost. According to the research, individuals with greater baseline “waist-hip ratio” genetic risk scores (a statistic that measures a person’s genetic predisposition to accumulate fat in the stomach) lost much less weight after the intervention.
A combination of hereditary and environmental factors causes obesity. Diet is an essential environmental component in health management because it can lower the incidence of obesity and its related health consequences. Modifying one’s lifestyle can mitigate the consequences of some inherited factors that contribute to obesity.
According to several research, different people react differently to an obesogenic environment. According to the dietary genetics theory, individual variances in their DNA may be to blame for this discrepancy. Nutritional genomics, often known as nutrigenetics, studies how genetics influence eating habits and disease propensity.
Professor Finucane explained the next steps in the research: “This study is both intriguing and noteworthy since it is the first to indicate a genetic effect on the response to an obesity medication. Even though our study indicated a little genetic impact on obesity, we feel this is an area worth future research, both in larger trials and in conjunction with other obesity treatments such as medicine and “metabolic surgery.”
