According the the Daily Express “Curvy women can ditch the diet – after scientists found that a woman’s body shape is all down to her genes.” While this appears to hold more truth after the lates study environmental factors (such as diet and physical activity) also play a role.
In one of the largest genetics study data from 61 studies involving about 200,000 different people identified 14 areas of DNA which were likely to affect waist-to-hip ratio. Only one of which was previously known. The study was conducted by the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) consortium and was published in Nature Genetics.
One of the biggest strength of this study is that it used data from a large number of people, enabling the detection of genetic areas that only a small effect on waist-to-hip ratio. More reseach is needed to identify the exact genes within theses areas that have an effect on the waist-to-hip ratio
Traits such as waist-to-hip ratio are likely to be affected by a large number of genes, each having a small effect (as well as environmental factors). Pooling a number of these studies improves the ability to detect genetic variations that are having a small effect.
The researchers concluded that their findings provide evidence that multiple genes have an effect on body fat distribution. They say that this effect is independent of overall body fat, and it occurs differently in men and women.
The hope is that an improved understanding of the genetics of fat distribution and obesity will lead to better ways of preventing obesity and reducing cardiovascular risk. However, much more work is required before this can become reality.
