The fto gene and measured food intake in children

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Polymorphisms in the obesity-associated gene, _FTO_, have been linked with sensitivity to satiety in children, indicating _FTO_ may be influencing one of the regulatory

drivers underlying food intake. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that food intake in a standard eating behaviour paradigm in which palatable food is offered under conditions of

satiety would be associated with _FTO_ genotype status, after controlling for differences in body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Participants were 131 children aged 4–5 years, taking part in a

behavioural study of food intake for whom DNA was available for genotyping. The phenotypic indicator of intake was the child's consumption of palatable food presented after having eaten

a meal. We also assessed physical activity using parental reports of the child's enjoyment of active games, their level of activity relative to other children and a standard measure of

fidgetiness. Associations between polymorphisms of the intronic _FTO_ single nucleotide polymorphism (rs9939609) and behaviour (food intake and activity) were assessed by analysis of

variance controlling for sex, age and BMI s.d. scores. RESULTS: The distribution of AA (homogenous for A allele), AT (heterogeneous T and A alleles) and TT (homogenous for T allele)

genotypes was 18, 50 and 32%, respectively. As predicted, TT homozygotes ate significantly less than heterozygotes (_P_=0.03) or AA homozygotes (_P_=0.02). The effect was not diminished by

controlling for BMI s.d. scores. There were no significant associations between _FTO_ genotype and any marker of physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: We showed that children with two copies of

the lower-risk _FTO_ alleles ate less than those with one or two higher-risk alleles. We conclude that the T allele is protective against overeating by promoting responsiveness to internal

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Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are very grateful to all the families who made this research possible. The research was funded by a grant from the Biotechnology and Biological

Sciences Research Council (D19086). AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London,

London, UK J Wardle & C Llewellyn * Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA S Sanderson *

King's College London, Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK R Plomin Authors * J Wardle View author publications You can also search

for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * C Llewellyn View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * S Sanderson View author publications You can also

search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * R Plomin View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to J

Wardle. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DISCLOSURE The authors state no conflict of interest. Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on International Journal of Obesity website

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ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Wardle, J., Llewellyn, C., Sanderson, S. _et al._ The _FTO_ gene and measured food intake in children. _Int J Obes_ 33, 42–45 (2009).

https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.174 Download citation * Received: 03 August 2008 * Revised: 13 August 2008 * Accepted: 06 September 2008 * Published: 07 October 2008 * Issue Date: January

2009 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.174 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is

not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative KEYWORDS * _FTO_ * diet * children * appetite * eating

behaviour