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Andriessen C, Doligkeit D, Moonen-Kornips E, Mensink M, Hesselink MKC, Hoeks J, Schrauwen P. The impact of prolonged fasting on 24h energy metabolism and its 24h rhythmicity in healthy, lean males: A randomized cross-over trial. Clin Nutr 2023; 42:2353-2362. [PMID: 37862821 DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2023.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Human energy expenditure and substrate oxidation are under circadian control and food intake is a time cue for the human biological clock, leading to 24h feeding-fasting cycles in energy and substrate metabolism. In recent years, (intermittent) fasting protocols have also become popular to improve metabolic health. Here, we aimed to investigate the impact of food intake on the 24h patterns of energy metabolism as well as to provide data on the timeline of changes in energy metabolism that occur upon an extended period of fasting. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a randomized, cross-over design, twelve healthy males underwent a 60h fast which was compared to a 60h fed condition. In the fed condition meals were provided at energy balance throughout the study. Conditions were separated by a two week period of habitual diet. Volunteers resided in a respiration chamber for the entire 60h to measure energy expenditure and substrate oxidation hour by hour. Volunteers performed a standardized activity protocol while in the chamber. Blood samples were drawn after 12, 36 and 60h. RESULTS Immediately following the breakfast meal (in the fed condition), fat oxidation became higher in the fasted condition compared to the fed condition and remained elevated throughout the study period. The initial rapid increase in fat oxidation corresponded with a decline in the hepatokine activin A (r = -0.86, p = 0.001). The contribution of fat oxidation to total energy expenditure gradually increased with extended abstinence from food, peaking after 51h of fasting at 160 mg/min. Carbohydrate oxidation stabilized at a low level during the second day of fasting and averaged around 60 mg/min with only modest elevations in response to physical activity. Although 24h energy expenditure was significantly lower with prolonged fasting (11.0 ± 0.4 vs 9.8 ± 0.2 and 10.9 ± 0.3 vs 10.3 ± 0.3 MJ in fed vs fasting, day 2 and 3 respectively, p < 0.01), the 24h fluctuations in energy expenditure were comparable between the fasted and fed condition. The fluctuations in substrate oxidation were, however, significantly (p < 0.001 for both carbohydrate and fat oxidation) altered in the fasted state, favouring fat oxidation. CONCLUSIONS Energy expenditure displays a day-night rhythm, which is independent of food intake. In contrast, the day-night rhythm of both carbohydrate and fat oxidation is mainly driven by food intake. Upon extended fasting, the absolute rate of fat oxidation rapidly increases and keeps increasing during a 60h fast, whereas carbohydrate oxidation becomes progressively diminished. TRIAL REGISTRATION www.trialregister.nl NTR 2042.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Andriessen
- Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
| | - Daniel Doligkeit
- Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Esther Moonen-Kornips
- Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Marco Mensink
- Division of Human Nutrition & Health, Chairgroup Nutritional Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Matthijs K C Hesselink
- Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Joris Hoeks
- Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Patrick Schrauwen
- Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
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2
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Areta JL. Physical performance during energy deficiency in humans: An evolutionary perspective. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 284:111473. [PMID: 37406958 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Energy deficiency profoundly disrupts normal endocrinology, metabolism, and physiology, resulting in an orchestrated response for energy preservation. As such, despite energy deficit is typically thought as positive for weight-loss and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases during the current obesity pandemic, in the context of contemporary sports and exercise nutrition, chronic energy deficiency is associated to negative health and athletic performance consequences. However, the evidence of energy deficit negatively affecting physical capacity and sports performance is unclear. While severe energy deficiency can negatively affect physical capacity, humans can also improve aerobic fitness and strength while facing significant energy deficit. Many athletes, also, compete at an elite and world-class level despite showing clear signs of energy deficiency. Maintenance of high physical capacity despite the suppression of energetically demanding physiological traits seems paradoxical when an evolutionary viewpoint is not considered. Humans have evolved facing intermittent periods of food scarcity in their natural habitat and are able to thrive in it. In the current perspective it is argued that when facing limited energy availability, maintenance of locomotion and physical capacity are of high priority given that they are essential for food procurement for survival in the habitat where humans evolved. When energetic resources are limited, energy may be allocated to tasks essential for survival (e.g. locomotion) while minimising energy allocation to traits that are not (e.g. growth and reproduction). The current perspective provides a model of energy allocation during energy scarcity supported by observation of physiological and metabolic responses that are congruent with this paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- José L Areta
- Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
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3
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Wu T, Xu S. Understanding the contemporary high obesity rate from an evolutionary genetic perspective. Hereditas 2023; 160:5. [PMID: 36750916 PMCID: PMC9903520 DOI: 10.1186/s41065-023-00268-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The topic of obesity is gaining increasing popularity globally. From an evolutionary genetic perspective, it is believed that the main cause of the high obesity rate is the mismatch between environment and genes after people have shifted toward a modern high-calorie diet. However, it has been debated for over 60 years about how obesity-related genes become prevalent all over the world. Here, we review the three most influential hypotheses or viewpoints, i.e., the thrifty gene hypothesis, the drifty gene hypothesis, and the maladaptation viewpoint. In particular, genome-wide association studies in the recent 10 years have provided rich findings and evidence to be considered for a better understanding of the evolutionary genetic mechanisms of obesity. We anticipate this brief review to direct further studies and inspire the future application of precision medicine in obesity treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Wu
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438 China
| | - Shuhua Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China. .,Human Phenome Institute, Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China. .,Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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4
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Speakman JR, Elmquist JK. Obesity: an evolutionary context. LIFE METABOLISM 2022; 1:10-24. [PMID: 36394061 PMCID: PMC9642988 DOI: 10.1093/lifemeta/loac002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
People completely lacking body fat (lipodystrophy/lipoatrophy) and those with severe obesity both show profound metabolic and other health issues. Regulating levels of body fat somewhere between these limits would, therefore, appear to be adaptive. Two different models might be contemplated. More traditional is a set point (SP) where the levels are regulated around a fixed level. Alternatively, dual-intervention point (DIP) is a system that tolerates fairly wide variation but is activated when critically high or low levels are breached. The DIP system seems to fit our experience much better than an SP, and models suggest that it is more likely to have evolved. A DIP system may have evolved because of two contrasting selection pressures. At the lower end, we may have been selected to avoid low levels of fat as a buffer against starvation, to avoid disease-induced anorexia, and to support reproduction. At the upper end, we may have been selected to avoid excess storage because of the elevated risks of predation. This upper limit of control seems to have malfunctioned because some of us deposit large fat stores, with important negative health effects. Why has evolution not protected us against this problem? One possibility is that the protective system slowly fell apart due to random mutations after we dramatically reduced the risk of being predated during our evolutionary history. By chance, it fell apart more in some people than others, and these people are now unable to effectively manage their weight in the face of the modern food glut. To understand the evolutionary context of obesity, it is important to separate the adaptive reason for storing some fat (i.e. the lower intervention point), from the nonadaptive reason for storing lots of fat (a broken upper intervention point). The DIP model has several consequences, showing how we understand the obesity problem and what happens when we attempt to treat it.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Speakman
- Corresponding author. John R Speakman, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, China. E-mail:
| | - Joel K Elmquist
- Joel K. Elmquist, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pharmacology, Center for Hypothalamic Research, University of Texas Southwestern, 5323 Harry Hines blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA. E-mail:
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Kim OT, Drapkina OM. Obesity epidemic through the prism of evolutionary processes. КАРДИОВАСКУЛЯРНАЯ ТЕРАПИЯ И ПРОФИЛАКТИКА 2022. [DOI: 10.15829/1728-8800-2022-3109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Currently, obesity has become one of the most serious public health problems. It takes millions of lives worldwide every year due to its association with numerous diseases and leads to significant social and economic losses. It is generally accepted that obesity is the result of the interaction of genes and environment, and the predisposition to it lies in our evolutionary past. This review discusses the role of adipose tissue in human evolution, the factors specifying a person’s predisposition to obesity, the main hypotheses for obesity origin, and potential prevention and treatment strategies arising from them. The evolutionary significance of visceral adipose tissue and some ethnic and sex characteristics associated with its distribution are also considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- O. T. Kim
- National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine
| | - O. M. Drapkina
- National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine
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6
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ZHANG J, MU J, LI X, ZHAO X. Relationship between probiotics and obesity: a review of recent research. FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1590/fst.30322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jing ZHANG
- Chongqing Chemical Industry Vocational College, China
| | - Jianfei MU
- Chongqing University of Education, China
| | - XiXi LI
- Chongqing Chemical Industry Vocational College, China
| | - Xin ZHAO
- Chongqing University of Education, China
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7
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Neuroimaging and modulation in obesity and diabetes research: 10th anniversary meeting. Int J Obes (Lond) 2022; 46:718-725. [PMID: 34934178 PMCID: PMC8960390 DOI: 10.1038/s41366-021-01025-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Admixture/fine-mapping in Brazilians reveals a West African associated potential regulatory variant (rs114066381) with a strong female-specific effect on body mass and fat mass indexes. Int J Obes (Lond) 2021; 45:1017-1029. [PMID: 33633342 PMCID: PMC9952852 DOI: 10.1038/s41366-021-00761-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Revised: 11/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Admixed populations are a resource to study the global genetic architecture of complex phenotypes, which is critical, considering that non-European populations are severely underrepresented in genomic studies. Here, we study the genetic architecture of BMI in children, young adults, and elderly individuals from the admixed population of Brazil. SUBJECTS/METHODS Leveraging admixture in Brazilians, whose chromosomes are mosaics of fragments of Native American, European, and African origins, we used genome-wide data to perform admixture mapping/fine-mapping of body mass index (BMI) in three Brazilian population-based cohorts from Northeast (Salvador), Southeast (Bambuí), and South (Pelotas). RESULTS We found significant associations with African-associated alleles in children from Salvador (PALD1 and ZMIZ1 genes), and in young adults from Pelotas (NOD2 and MTUS2 genes). More importantly, in Pelotas, rs114066381, mapped in a potential regulatory region, is significantly associated only in females (p = 2.76e-06). This variant is rare in Europeans but with frequencies of ~3% in West Africa and has a strong female-specific effect (95% CI: 2.32-5.65 kg/m2 per each A allele). We confirmed this sex-specific association and replicated its strong effect for an adjusted fat mass index in the same Pelotas cohort, and for BMI in another Brazilian cohort from São Paulo (Southeast Brazil). A meta-analysis confirmed the significant association. Remarkably, we observed that while the frequency of rs114066381-A allele ranges from 0.8 to 2.1% in the studied populations, it attains ~9% among women with morbid obesity from Pelotas, São Paulo, and Bambuí. The effect size of rs114066381 is at least five times higher than the FTO SNPs rs9939609 and rs1558902, already emblematic for their high effects. CONCLUSIONS We identified six candidate SNPs associated with BMI. rs114066381 stands out for its high effect that was replicated and its high frequency in women with morbid obesity. We demonstrate how admixed populations are a source of new relevant phenotype-associated genetic variants.
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9
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de Candia P, Prattichizzo F, Garavelli S, Alviggi C, La Cava A, Matarese G. The pleiotropic roles of leptin in metabolism, immunity, and cancer. J Exp Med 2021; 218:211994. [PMID: 33857282 PMCID: PMC8056770 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20191593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of the archetypal adipocytokine leptin and how it regulates energy homeostasis have represented breakthroughs in our understanding of the endocrine function of the adipose tissue and the biological determinants of human obesity. Investigations on leptin have also been instrumental in identifying physio-pathological connections between metabolic regulation and multiple immunological functions. For example, the description of the promoting activities of leptin on inflammation and cell proliferation have recognized the detrimental effects of leptin in connecting dysmetabolic conditions with cancer and with onset and/or progression of autoimmune disease. Here we review the multiple biological functions and complex framework of operations of leptin, discussing why and how the pleiotropic activities of this adipocytokine still pose major hurdles in the development of effective leptin-based therapeutic opportunities for different clinical conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola de Candia
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico MultiMedica, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Garavelli
- Istituto per l'Endocrinologia e l'Oncologia Sperimentale, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Naples, Italy
| | - Carlo Alviggi
- Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Science and Odontostomatology, Università di Napoli "Federico II," Naples, Italy
| | - Antonio La Cava
- Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Giuseppe Matarese
- Istituto per l'Endocrinologia e l'Oncologia Sperimentale, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Naples, Italy.,T reg Cell Lab, Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Napoli "Federico II," Naples, Italy
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10
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J Gray L, B Sokolowski M, J Simpson S. Drosophila as a useful model for understanding the evolutionary physiology of obesity resistance and metabolic thrift. Fly (Austin) 2021; 15:47-59. [PMID: 33704003 DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2021.1896960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolved metabolic thriftiness in humans is a proposed contributor to the obesity epidemic. Insect models have been shown to evolve both 'metabolic thrift' in response to rearing on high-protein diets that promote leanness, and 'obesity resistance' when reared on fattening high-carbohydrate, low-protein foods. Despite the hypothesis that human obesity is caused by evolved metabolic thrift, genetic contributions to this physiological trait remain elusive. Here we conducted a pilot study to determine whether thrift and obesity resistance can arise under laboratory based 'quasi-natural selection' in the genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster. We found that both these traits can evolve within 16 generations. Contrary to predictions from the 'thrifty genotype/phenotype' hypothesis, we found that when animals from a metabolic thrift inducing high-protein environment are mismatched to fattening high-carbohydrate foods, they did not become 'obese'. Rather, they accumulate less triglyceride than control animals, not more. We speculate that this may arise through as yet un-quantified parental effects - potentially epigenetic. This study establishes that D. melanogaster could be a useful model for elucidating the role of the trans- and inter-generational effects of diet on the genetics of metabolic traits in higher animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey J Gray
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Marla B Sokolowski
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Stephen J Simpson
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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11
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Remesar X, Alemany M. Dietary Energy Partition: The Central Role of Glucose. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E7729. [PMID: 33086579 PMCID: PMC7593952 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21207729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans have developed effective survival mechanisms under conditions of nutrient (and energy) scarcity. Nevertheless, today, most humans face a quite different situation: excess of nutrients, especially those high in amino-nitrogen and energy (largely fat). The lack of mechanisms to prevent energy overload and the effective persistence of the mechanisms hoarding key nutrients such as amino acids has resulted in deep disorders of substrate handling. There is too often a massive untreatable accumulation of body fat in the presence of severe metabolic disorders of energy utilization and disposal, which become chronic and go much beyond the most obvious problems: diabetes, circulatory, renal and nervous disorders included loosely within the metabolic syndrome. We lack basic knowledge on diet nutrient dynamics at the tissue-cell metabolism level, and this adds to widely used medical procedures lacking sufficient scientific support, with limited or nil success. In the present longitudinal analysis of the fate of dietary nutrients, we have focused on glucose as an example of a largely unknown entity. Even most studies on hyper-energetic diets or their later consequences tend to ignore the critical role of carbohydrate (and nitrogen disposal) as (probably) the two main factors affecting the substrate partition and metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Remesar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine Faculty of Biology, University Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
- IBUB Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Obesity and Nutrition, Institute of Health Carlos III, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marià Alemany
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine Faculty of Biology, University Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
- IBUB Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Obesity and Nutrition, Institute of Health Carlos III, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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12
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Berry EM. The Obesity Pandemic-Whose Responsibility? No Blame, No Shame, Not More of the Same. Front Nutr 2020; 7:2. [PMID: 32118024 PMCID: PMC7025495 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2020.00002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Elliot M Berry
- Braun School of Public Health, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
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13
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Müller MJ. About "spendthrift" and "thrifty" phenotypes: resistance and susceptibility to overeating revisited. Am J Clin Nutr 2019; 110:542-543. [PMID: 31172166 DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Manfred J Müller
- Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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14
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Brzozowska MM, Havula E, Allen RB, Cox MP. Genetics, adaptation to environmental changes and archaic admixture in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus in Indigenous Australians. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 2019; 20:321-332. [PMID: 31278514 DOI: 10.1007/s11154-019-09505-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Indigenous Australians are particularly affected by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) due to both their genetic susceptibility and a range of environmental and lifestyle risk factors. Recent genetic studies link predisposition to some diseases, including T2D, to alleles acquired from archaic hominins, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, which persist in the genomes of modern humans today. Indo-Pacific human populations, including Indigenous Australians, remain extremely underrepresented in genomic research with a paucity of data examining the impact of Denisovan or Neanderthal lineages on human phenotypes in Oceania. The few genetic studies undertaken emphasize the uniqueness and antiquity of Indigenous Australian genomes, with possibly the largest proportion of Denisovan ancestry of any population in the world. In this review, we focus on the potential contributions of ancient genes/pathways to modern human phenotypes, while also highlighting the evolutionary roles of genetic adaptation to dietary and environmental changes associated with an adopted Western lifestyle. We discuss the role of genetic and epigenetic factors in the pathogenesis of T2D in understudied Indigenous Australians, including the potential impact of archaic gene lineages on this disease. Finally, we propose that greater understanding of the underlying genetic predisposition may contribute to the clinical efficacy of diabetes management in Indigenous Australians. We suggest that improved identification of T2D risk variants in Oceania is needed. Such studies promise to clarify how genetic and phenotypic differences vary between populations and, crucially, provide novel targets for personalised medical therapies in currently marginalized groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malgorzata Monika Brzozowska
- Endocrinology Department, Sutherland Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- St George & Sutherland Hospital Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Essi Havula
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Richard Benjamin Allen
- The Palaeogenomics and Bio-Archaeology Research Network, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Murray P Cox
- Statistics and Bioinformatics Group, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4410, New Zealand
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Abstract
The discovery of leptin changed the view of adipose tissue from that of a passive vessel that stores fat to that of a dynamic endocrine organ that actively regulates behaviour and metabolism. Secreted by adipose tissue, leptin functions as an afferent signal in a negative feedback loop, acting primarily on neurons in the hypothalamus and regulating feeding and many other functions. The leptin endocrine system serves a critical evolutionary function by maintaining the relative constancy of adipose tissue mass, thereby protecting individuals from the risks associated with being too thin (starvation and infertility) or too obese (predation). In this Review, the biology of leptin is summarized, and a conceptual framework is established for studying the pathogenesis of obesity, which, analogously to diabetes, can result from either leptin hyposecretion or leptin resistance. Herein, these two states are distinguished with the terms 'type 1 obesity' and 'type 2 obesity': type 1 obesity describes a subset of obese individuals with low endogenous plasma leptin levels who respond to leptin therapy, whereas type 2 obesity describes most obese individuals, who are leptin resistant but might respond to leptin therapy in combination with other drugs, such as leptin sensitizers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M Friedman
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
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16
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Nakayama K, Inaba Y. Genetic variants influencing obesity-related traits in Japanese population. Ann Hum Biol 2019; 46:298-304. [PMID: 31307227 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2019.1644373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Context: Adipose tissue is the main organ that stores energy and participates in adaptive thermogenesis of the human body. The adipose tissue content in an individual is determined by a combination of genetic factors and lifestyle related factors. While Japanese people, along with the closely related East Asians, are generally thinner than individuals of European ancestry, they are prone to accumulating visceral adipose tissues. Genome-wide discovery of loci influencing obesity-related traits, and application of the genome sequence data to assess natural selection, provides evidence that the obesity-related traits in East Asians might be shaped by natural selection. Objective: This review aims to summarise health and evolutionary implications of genetic variants influencing obesity-related traits in Japanese. Methods: This study gathered recently published papers of medical, genetic and evolutionary studies regarding obesity-related traits in the Japanese and closely related East Asians. Results and conclusion: A high susceptibility to central obesity of Japanese and closely related East Asians might have been shaped by natural selection favouring thrifty genotypes. Moreover, natural selection favouring higher thermogenic activity of brown adipose tissues would contribute to increased non-thrifty alleles in ancestors of East Asians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuhiro Nakayama
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo , Chiba , Japan
| | - Yuta Inaba
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo , Chiba , Japan
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17
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Olivieri C. Combating insulin resistance with the paleo diet. Nurse Pract 2019; 44:49-55. [PMID: 30672867 DOI: 10.1097/01.npr.0000552683.55684.f8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Lifestyle changes that include adopting a healthy diet, such as the paleo diet, can help prevent prediabetes and T2DM. This article explores the potential benefits of replacing low-calorie diets with the paleo diet. As primary care providers, NPs are positioned to help inform patients, particularly those with prediabetes and T2DM, about healthy lifestyle choices and provide them with resources to achieve weight loss success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chrystyne Olivieri
- Chrystyne Olivieri is an assistant professor of graduate nursing at Long Island University, Brookville, N.Y
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18
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Sellayah D. The Impact of Early Human Migration on Brown Adipose Tissue Evolution and Its Relevance to the Modern Obesity Pandemic. J Endocr Soc 2018; 3:372-386. [PMID: 30723844 PMCID: PMC6354082 DOI: 10.1210/js.2018-00363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic factors are believed to be primarily responsible for obesity; however, an understanding of how genes for obesity have become so prevalent in modern society has proved elusive. Several theories have attempted to explain the genetic basis for obesity, but none of these appear to factor in the interethnic variation in obesity. Emerging evidence is increasingly pointing to a link between reduced basal metabolism and ineffective brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. In fact, BAT presence and function are strongly correlated with metabolic rates and directly influence obesity susceptibility. My colleagues and I recently theorized that ancestral exposure to cold necessitated the evolution of enhanced BAT thermogenesis, which, with today’s hypercaloric and sedentary lifestyle, becomes advantageous, because thermogenesis is energetically wasteful, raising basal metabolism and burning excess calories. The opposite may be true for the descendants of heat-adapted populations. This review further reconciles global evolutionary climatic exposures with obesity demographics to understand the genetic basis for the obesity pandemic, and new insights from the most recent studies are provided, including those assessing archaic human admixture. Key genetic variants influencing BAT thermogenesis are outlined that have also been linked with climatic exposure to cold and appear to support the theory that evolutionary factors relevant to climate may have shaped the modern obesity pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dyan Sellayah
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
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19
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Abstract
Human obesity has a large genetic component, yet has many serious negative consequences. How this state of affairs has evolved has generated wide debate. The thrifty gene hypothesis was the first attempt to explain obesity as a consequence of adaptive responses to an ancient environment that in modern society become disadvantageous. The idea is that genes (or more precisely, alleles) predisposing to obesity may have been selected for by repeated exposure to famines. However, this idea has many flaws: for instance, selection of the supposed magnitude over the duration of human evolution would fix any thrifty alleles (famines kill the old and young, not the obese) and there is no evidence that hunter-gatherer populations become obese between famines. An alternative idea (called thrifty late) is that selection in famines has only happened since the agricultural revolution. However, this is inconsistent with the absence of strong signatures of selection at single nucleotide polymorphisms linked to obesity. In parallel to discussions about the origin of obesity, there has been much debate regarding the regulation of body weight. There are three basic models: the set-point, settling point and dual-intervention point models. Selection might act against low and high levels of adiposity because food unpredictability and the risk of starvation selects against low adiposity whereas the risk of predation selects against high adiposity. Although evidence for the latter is quite strong, evidence for the former is relatively weak. The release from predation ∼2-million years ago is suggested to have led to the upper intervention point drifting in evolutionary time, leading to the modern distribution of obesity: the drifty gene hypothesis. Recent critiques of the dual-intervention point/drifty gene idea are flawed and inconsistent with known aspects of energy balance physiology. Here, I present a new formulation of the dual-intervention point model. This model includes the novel suggestion that food unpredictability and starvation are insignificant factors driving fat storage, and that the main force driving up fat storage is the risk of disease and the need to survive periods of pathogen-induced anorexia. This model shows why two independent intervention points are more likely to evolve than a single set point. The molecular basis of the lower intervention point is likely based around the leptin pathway signalling. Determining the molecular basis of the upper intervention point is a crucial key target for future obesity research. A potential definitive test to separate the different models is also described.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Speakman
- Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China .,Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
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20
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Gene-nutrient interactions and susceptibility to human obesity. GENES AND NUTRITION 2017; 12:29. [PMID: 29093760 PMCID: PMC5663124 DOI: 10.1186/s12263-017-0581-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 07/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
A large number of genome-wide association studies, transferability studies, and candidate gene studies performed in diverse populations around the world have identified gene variants that are associated with common human obesity. The mounting evidence suggests that these obesity gene variants interact with multiple environmental factors and increase susceptibility to this complex metabolic disease. The objective of this review article is to provide concise and updated information on energy balance, heritability of body weight, origins of gene variants, and gene-nutrient interactions in relation to human obesity. It is proposed that knowledge of these related topics will provide valuable insight for future preventative lifestyle intervention using targeted nutritional and medicinal therapies.
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21
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Freese J, Klement RJ, Ruiz-Núñez B, Schwarz S, Lötzerich H. The sedentary (r)evolution: Have we lost our metabolic flexibility? F1000Res 2017; 6:1787. [PMID: 29225776 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.12724.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
During the course of evolution, up until the agricultural revolution, environmental fluctuations forced the human species to develop a flexible metabolism in order to adapt its energy needs to various climate, seasonal and vegetation conditions. Metabolic flexibility safeguarded human survival independent of food availability. In modern times, humans switched their primal lifestyle towards a constant availability of energy-dense, yet often nutrient-deficient, foods, persistent psycho-emotional stressors and a lack of exercise. As a result, humans progressively gain metabolic disorders, such as the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer´s disease, wherever the sedentary lifestyle spreads in the world. For more than 2.5 million years, our capability to store fat for times of food shortage was an outstanding survival advantage. Nowadays, the same survival strategy in a completely altered surrounding is responsible for a constant accumulation of body fat. In this article, we argue that the metabolic disease epidemic is largely based on a deficit in metabolic flexibility. We hypothesize that the modern energetic inflexibility, typically displayed by symptoms of neuroglycopenia, can be reversed by re-cultivating suppressed metabolic programs, which became obsolete in an affluent environment, particularly the ability to easily switch to ketone body and fat oxidation. In a simplified model, the basic metabolic programs of humans' primal hunter-gatherer lifestyle are opposed to the current sedentary lifestyle. Those metabolic programs, which are chronically neglected in modern surroundings, are identified and conclusions for the prevention of chronic metabolic diseases are drawn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Freese
- Institute of Outdoor Sports and Environmental Science, German Sports University Cologne, Cologne, 50933, Germany
| | - Rainer Johannes Klement
- Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, Leopoldina Hospital Schweinfurt, Schweinfurt, 97422, Germany
| | - Begoña Ruiz-Núñez
- Laboratory Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 9713, Netherlands
| | - Sebastian Schwarz
- University College Physiotherapy Thim van der Laan,, Landquart, 7302, Switzerland
| | - Helmut Lötzerich
- Institute of Outdoor Sports and Environmental Science, German Sports University Cologne, Cologne, 50933, Germany
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22
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Freese J, Klement RJ, Ruiz-Núñez B, Schwarz S, Lötzerich H. The sedentary (r)evolution: Have we lost our metabolic flexibility? F1000Res 2017; 6:1787. [PMID: 29225776 PMCID: PMC5710317 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.12724.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
During the course of evolution, up until the agricultural revolution, environmental fluctuations forced the human species to develop a flexible metabolism in order to adapt its energy needs to various climate, seasonal and vegetation conditions. Metabolic flexibility safeguarded human survival independent of food availability. In modern times, humans switched their primal lifestyle towards a constant availability of energy-dense, yet often nutrient-deficient, foods, persistent psycho-emotional stressors and a lack of exercise. As a result, humans progressively gain metabolic disorders, such as the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer´s disease, wherever the sedentary lifestyle spreads in the world. For more than 2.5 million years, our capability to store fat for times of food shortage was an outstanding survival advantage. Nowadays, the same survival strategy in a completely altered surrounding is responsible for a constant accumulation of body fat. In this article, we argue that the metabolic disease epidemic is largely based on a deficit in metabolic flexibility. We hypothesize that the modern energetic inflexibility, typically displayed by symptoms of neuroglycopenia, can be reversed by re-cultivating suppressed metabolic programs, which became obsolete in an affluent environment, particularly the ability to easily switch to ketone body and fat oxidation. In a simplified model, the basic metabolic programs of humans’ primal hunter-gatherer lifestyle are opposed to the current sedentary lifestyle. Those metabolic programs, which are chronically neglected in modern surroundings, are identified and conclusions for the prevention of chronic metabolic diseases are drawn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Freese
- Institute of Outdoor Sports and Environmental Science, German Sports University Cologne, Cologne, 50933, Germany
| | - Rainer Johannes Klement
- Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, Leopoldina Hospital Schweinfurt, Schweinfurt, 97422, Germany
| | - Begoña Ruiz-Núñez
- Laboratory Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 9713, Netherlands
| | - Sebastian Schwarz
- University College Physiotherapy Thim van der Laan,, Landquart, 7302, Switzerland
| | - Helmut Lötzerich
- Institute of Outdoor Sports and Environmental Science, German Sports University Cologne, Cologne, 50933, Germany
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23
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Rossier BC, Bochud M, Devuyst O. The Hypertension Pandemic: An Evolutionary Perspective. Physiology (Bethesda) 2017; 32:112-125. [PMID: 28202622 DOI: 10.1152/physiol.00026.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypertension affects over 1.2 billion individuals worldwide and has become the most critical and expensive public health problem. Hypertension is a multifactorial disease involving environmental and genetic factors together with risk-conferring behaviors. The cause of the disease is identified in ∼10% of the cases (secondary hypertension), but in 90% of the cases no etiology is found (primary or essential hypertension). For this reason, a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling blood pressure in normal and hypertensive patients is the aim of very active experimental and clinical research. In this article, we review the importance of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) for the control of blood pressure, focusing on the evolution of the system and its critical importance for adaptation of vertebrates to a terrestrial and dry environment. The evolution of blood pressure control during the evolution of primates, hominins, and humans is discussed, together with the role of common genetic factors and the possible causes of the current hypertension pandemic in the light of evolutionary medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard C Rossier
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland;
| | - Murielle Bochud
- Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland; and
| | - Olivier Devuyst
- Institute of Physiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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24
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A global evolutionary and metabolic analysis of human obesity gene risk variants. Gene 2017; 627:412-419. [PMID: 28687331 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2017.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 07/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
It is generally accepted that the selection of gene variants during human evolution optimized energy metabolism that now interacts with our obesogenic environment to increase the prevalence of obesity. The purpose of this study was to perform a global evolutionary and metabolic analysis of human obesity gene risk variants (110 human obesity genes with 127 nearest gene risk variants) identified using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to enhance our knowledge of early and late genotypes. As a result of determining the mean frequency of these obesity gene risk variants in 13 available populations from around the world our results provide evidence for the early selection of ancestral risk variants (defined as selection before migration from Africa) and late selection of derived risk variants (defined as selection after migration from Africa). Our results also provide novel information for association of these obesity genes or encoded proteins with diverse metabolic pathways and other human diseases. The overall results indicate a significant differential evolutionary pattern for the selection of obesity gene ancestral and derived risk variants proposed to optimize energy metabolism in varying global environments and complex association with metabolic pathways and other human diseases. These results are consistent with obesity genes that encode proteins possessing a fundamental role in maintaining energy metabolism and survival during the course of human evolution.
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25
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Nakayama K, Iwamoto S. An adaptive variant of TRIB2, rs1057001, is associated with higher expression levels of thermogenic genes in human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues. J Physiol Anthropol 2017; 36:16. [PMID: 28212671 PMCID: PMC5316227 DOI: 10.1186/s40101-017-0132-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background An obesity-related single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the Tribbles pseudokinase 2 gene (TRIB2) was shown to have underwent adaptive evolution in the last glacial period, suggesting a selective advantage of this SNP in human populations in cold environments. In order to verify this hypothesis, the effect of the TRIB2 SNP on the expression of genes involved in adaptive thermogenesis was tested using messenger RNAs prepared from adipose tissues of Japanese adults. Methods Complementary DNA was prepared from subcutaneous adipose tissues (SAT) and visceral adipose tissues (VAT) obtained from 48 Japanese adults. Transcript levels of 15 selected genes, including five genes that are upregulated in development of thermogenic adipocytes, were measured by using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Differences in transcript levels between the TRIB2 SNP genotype groups (AA genotype versus AT + TT genotype) were assessed using t test. Results Of the five thermogenic genes, DIO2, CIDEA, PPARGC1A, and PRDM16 showed significantly higher transcript levels in SAT of individuals with the AA genotype relative to those with the AT + TT genotype (P < 0.05). However, only 2 out of the 10 non-thermogenic genes exhibited differences in transcript levels according to genotype. Additionally, in silico prediction indicated that this SNP likely affects the expression of nearby genes including TRIB2. Conclusion The higher expression levels of thermogenic genes in individuals homozygous for the adaptive variant of TRIB2 SNP suggest a greater propensity for induction of thermogenesis in adipose tissues in cold environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuhiro Nakayama
- Division of Human Genetics, Center for Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, 329-0498, Japan.
| | - Sadahiko Iwamoto
- Division of Human Genetics, Center for Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, 329-0498, Japan
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26
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Worldwide Increase of Obesity Is Related to the Reduced Opportunity for Natural Selection. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170098. [PMID: 28107497 PMCID: PMC5249151 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2015] [Accepted: 12/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Worldwide rise of obesity may be partly related to the relaxation of natural selection in the last few generations. Accumulation of mutations affecting metabolism towards excessive fat deposition is suggested to be a result of less purging selection. Using the WHO and UN data for 159 countries there is a significant correlation (r = 0.60, p<0.01) between an index of the relaxed opportunity for selection (Biological State Index) and prevalence of obesity (percentage of individuals with BMI >30kg/m2). This correlation remains significant (r = 0.32., p<0.01) when caloric intake and insufficient physical activity prevalence are kept statistically constant (partial correlation analysis, N = 82). The correlation is still significant when gross domestic product per capita is also kept constant (r = 0.24, p <0.05, N = 81). In the last decades, prevalence of both obesity and underweight has increased in some countries despite no change in caloric intake nor in physical inactivity prevalence. Relaxed selection against genes affecting energy balance and metabolism may contribute to the increase of fatness independent from commonly considered positive energy balance. Diagnoses of individual predispositions to obesity at an early age and individual counselling on diet and behaviour may be appropriate strategies to limit further increases in body mass.
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27
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Wang G, Speakman JR. Analysis of Positive Selection at Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated with Body Mass Index Does Not Support the "Thrifty Gene" Hypothesis. Cell Metab 2016; 24:531-541. [PMID: 27667669 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2016.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2016] [Revised: 07/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The "thrifty gene hypothesis" suggests genetic susceptibility to obesity arises because of positive selection for alleles that favored fat deposition and survival during famines. We used public domain data to locate signatures of positive selection based on derived allele frequency, genetic diversity, long haplotypes, and differences between populations at SNPs identified in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for BMI. We used SNPs near the lactase (LCT), SLC24A5, and SLC45A2 genes as positive controls and 120 randomly selected SNPs as negative controls. We found evidence for positive selection (p < 0.05) at nine out of 115 BMI SNPs. However, five of these involved positive selection for the protective allele (i.e., for leanness). The widespread absence of signatures of positive selection, combined with selection favoring leanness at some alleles, does not support the suggestion that obesity provided a selective advantage to survive famines, or any other selective advantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanlin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1 West Beichen Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, PRC; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 A Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, PRC
| | - John R Speakman
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1 West Beichen Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, PRC; Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK.
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28
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Diane A, Pierce WD, Kelly SE, Sokolik S, Borthwick F, Jacome-Sosa M, Mangat R, Pradillo JM, Allan SM, Ruth MR, Field CJ, Hutcheson R, Rocic P, Russell JC, Vine DF, Proctor SD. Mechanisms of Comorbidities Associated With the Metabolic Syndrome: Insights from the JCR:LA-cp Corpulent Rat Strain. Front Nutr 2016; 3:44. [PMID: 27777929 PMCID: PMC5056323 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2016.00044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Obesity and its metabolic complications have emerged as the epidemic of the new millennia. The use of obese rodent models continues to be a productive component of efforts to understand the concomitant metabolic complications of this disease. In 1978, the JCR:LA-cp rat model was developed with an autosomal recessive corpulent (cp) trait resulting from a premature stop codon in the extracellular domain of the leptin receptor. Rats that are heterozygous for the cp trait are lean-prone, while those that are homozygous (cp/cp) spontaneously display the pathophysiology of obesity as well as a metabolic syndrome (MetS)-like phenotype. Over the years, there have been formidable scientific contributions that have originated from this rat model, much of which has been reviewed extensively up to 2008. The premise of these earlier studies focused on characterizing the pathophysiology of MetS-like phenotype that was spontaneously apparent in this model. The purpose of this review is to highlight areas of recent advancement made possible by this model including; emerging appreciation of the "thrifty gene" hypothesis in the context of obesity, the concept of how chronic inflammation may drive obesogenesis, the impact of acute forms of inflammation to the brain and periphery during chronic obesity, the role of dysfunctional insulin metabolism on lipid metabolism and vascular damage, and the mechanistic basis for altered vascular function as well as novel parallels between the human condition and the female JCR:LA-cp rat as a model for polycystic ovary disease (PCOS).
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdoulaye Diane
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - W. David Pierce
- Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Sandra E. Kelly
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Sharon Sokolik
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Faye Borthwick
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Miriam Jacome-Sosa
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Rabban Mangat
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | | | - Stuart McRae Allan
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Megan R. Ruth
- Department of Agricultural Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Catherine J. Field
- Department of Agricultural Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | | | | | - James C. Russell
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Donna F. Vine
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Spencer D. Proctor
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Division of Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes and Mazakowski Heart Institutes, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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Watve M, Diwekar-Joshi M. What to expect from an evolutionary hypothesis for a human disease: The case of type 2 diabetes. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2016; 67:349-368. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2016.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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30
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Beitscher-Campbell H, Blum K, Febo M, Madigan MA, Giordano J, Badgaiyan RD, Braverman ER, Dushaj K, Li M, Gold MS. Pilot clinical observations between food and drug seeking derived from fifty cases attending an eating disorder clinic. J Behav Addict 2016; 5:533-41. [PMID: 27502054 PMCID: PMC5264422 DOI: 10.1556/2006.5.2016.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The reward deficiency syndrome hypothesis posits that genes are responsible for reward dependence and related behaviors. There is evidence that both bulimia and anorexia nervosa, especially in women, have been linked to a lifetime history of substance use disorder (SUD). There are difficulties in accepting food as an addiction similar to drugs; however, increasingly neuroimaging studies favor such an assertion. Case presentations We are reporting the evidence of comorbidity of eating disorders with SUD found within these case presentations. We show 50 case reports derived from two independent treatment centers in Florida that suggest the commonality between food and drug addictions. In an attempt to provide data from this cohort, many participants did not adequately respond to our questionnaire. Discussion We propose that dopamine agonist therapy may be of common benefit. Failure in the past may reside in too powerful D2 agonist activity leading to D2 receptor downregulation, while the new methodology may cause a reduction of "dopamine resistance" by inducing "dopamine homeostasis." While this is not a definitive study, it does provide some additional clinical evidence that these two addictions are not mutually exclusive. Conclusion Certainly, it is our position that there is an overlap between food- and drug-seeking behavior. We propose that the studies focused on an effort to produce natural activation of dopaminergic reward circuitry as a type of common therapy may certainly be reasonable. Additional research is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harriet Beitscher-Campbell
- A New Beginning PA, North Miami Beach, FL, USA,Ocean Breeze Recovery Program, Pompano Beach, FL, USA,National Institute of Holistic Addiction Studies, North Miami Beach, FL, USA
| | - Kenneth Blum
- National Institute of Holistic Addiction Studies, North Miami Beach, FL, USA,Department of Psychiatry, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA,Division of Neuroscience-based Therapy, Summit Estate Recovery Center, Las Gatos, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA,Department of Neurological Research, PATH Foundation NY, New York, NY, USA,Dominion Diagnostics, LLC, North Kingstown, RI, USA,IGENE, LLC, Austin, TX, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Division of Neuroscience Research and Addiction Therapy, The Shores Treatment and Recovery, Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA,Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary,Corresponding author: Kenneth Blum, PhD; Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Box 100183, Gainesville, FL 32610-0183, USA; Phone: +1 352 392 6680; Fax: +1 352 392 8217; E-mail:
| | - Marcelo Febo
- Department of Psychiatry, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | | | - John Giordano
- National Institute of Holistic Addiction Studies, North Miami Beach, FL, USA
| | - Rajendra D. Badgaiyan
- Department of Psychiatry and Laboratory for Radiochemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Eric R. Braverman
- Department of Neurological Research, PATH Foundation NY, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kristina Dushaj
- Department of Neurological Research, PATH Foundation NY, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mona Li
- Department of Neurological Research, PATH Foundation NY, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mark S. Gold
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
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31
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Liang J, Sun Y, Liu X, Zhu Y, Pei Y, Wang Y, Qiu Q, Yang M, Qi L. Genetic predisposition to obesity is associated with insulin secretion in Chinese adults: The Cardiometabolic Risk in Chinese (CRC) study. J Diabetes Complications 2016; 30:1229-33. [PMID: 27324702 DOI: 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2016.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Revised: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
AIMS The etiological role of obesity in determining diabetes risk among Asians may be different from that among Caucasians. The current study aimed to investigate the association between genetic predisposition to obesity and measures of insulin secretion and resistance in a large Chinese cohort. METHODS Study samples were from a community-based health examination survey in central China. A total of 2058 subjects with available biomarkers levels were included in the present study. A genetic risk score (GRS) of obesity was derived on the basis of thirteen Asian-specific body mass index (BMI)-associated variants. RESULTS High obesity GRS was significantly associated with increased homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-B score (β=7.309; P=0.001) but not related to measures of insulin resistance. Adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and levels of lipids did not appreciably change the results. In addition, we found significant interactions between the obesity GRS and measures of body fat distribution including waist circumference (WC; P for interaction=0.004) and neck circumference (NC; P for interaction=0.014) on HOMA-B score. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that genetic predisposition to obesity may affect beta cell function in Chinese; and body fat distribution may modify the genetic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Liang
- Department of Endocrinology of Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou Institute of Medical Sciences, Xuzhou Institute of Diabetes, Jiangsu 221009, China; Xuzhou Clinical School of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221009, China.
| | - Yuting Sun
- Xuzhou Medical College, Jiangsu 221000, China
| | - Xuekui Liu
- Department of Endocrinology of Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou Institute of Medical Sciences, Xuzhou Institute of Diabetes, Jiangsu 221009, China; Xuzhou Clinical School of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221009, China
| | - Yan Zhu
- Xuzhou Medical College, Jiangsu 221000, China
| | - Ying Pei
- School of Medicine, Southeast University, Jiangsu 210009, China
| | - Yu Wang
- Department of Endocrinology of Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou Institute of Medical Sciences, Xuzhou Institute of Diabetes, Jiangsu 221009, China; Xuzhou Clinical School of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221009, China
| | - Qinqin Qiu
- Xuzhou Medical College, Jiangsu 221000, China
| | - Manqing Yang
- Department of Endocrinology of Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou Institute of Medical Sciences, Xuzhou Institute of Diabetes, Jiangsu 221009, China; Xuzhou Clinical School of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221009, China
| | - Lu Qi
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, United States; Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
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Ravi Kanth VV, Sasikala M, Sharma M, Rao PN, Reddy DN. Genetics of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: From susceptibility and nutrient interactions to management. World J Hepatol 2016; 8:827-837. [PMID: 27458502 PMCID: PMC4945502 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v8.i20.827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2016] [Revised: 05/04/2016] [Accepted: 06/16/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetics plays an important role in determining the susceptibility of an individual to develop a disease. Complex, multi factorial diseases of modern day (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and obesity) are a result of disparity between the type of food consumed and genes, suggesting that food which does not match the host genes is probably one of the major reasons for developing life style diseases. Non-alcoholic fatty liver is becoming a global epidemic leading to substantial morbidity. While various genotyping approaches such as whole exome sequencing using next generation sequencers and genome wide association studies have identified susceptibility loci for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) including variants in patatin-like phospholipase domain containing 3 and transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 genes apart from others; nutrient based studies emphasized on a combination of vitamin D, E and omega-3 fatty acids to manage fatty liver disease. However majority of the studies were conducted independent of each other and very few studies explored the interactions between the genetic susceptibility and nutrient interactions. Identifying such interactions will aid in optimizing the nutrition tailor made to an individual’s genetic makeup, thereby aiding in delaying the onset of the disease and its progression. The present topic focuses on studies that identified the genetic susceptibility for NAFLD, nutritional recommendations, and their interactions for better management of NAFLD.
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Brzęk P, Gębczyński AK, Książek A, Konarzewski M. Effect of calorie restriction on spontaneous physical activity and body mass in mice divergently selected for basal metabolic rate (BMR). Physiol Behav 2016; 161:116-122. [PMID: 27090226 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.04.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2016] [Revised: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Spontaneous physical activity (SPA) represents an important component of daily energy expenditures in animals and humans. Intra-specific variation in SPA may be related to the susceptibility to metabolic disease or obesity. In particular, reduced SPA under conditions of limited food availability may conserve energy and prevent loss of body and fat mass ('thrifty genotype hypothesis'). However, both SPA and its changes during food restriction show wide inter-individual variations. We studied the effect of 30% caloric restriction (CR) on SPA in laboratory mice divergently selected for high (H-BMR) and low (L-BMR) basal metabolic rate. Selection increased SPA in the H-BMR line but did not change it in the L-BMR mice. This effect reflected changes in SPA intensity but not SPA duration. CR increased SPA intensity more strongly in the L-BMR line than in the H-BMR line and significantly modified the temporal variation of SPA. However, the initial between-line differences in SPA were not affected by CR. Loss of body mass during CR did not differ between both lines. Our results show that the H-BMR mice can maintain their genetically determined high SPA under conditions of reduced food intake without sacrificing their body mass. We hypothesize that this pattern may reflect the higher flexibility in the energy budget in the H-BMR line, as we showed previously that mice from this line reduced their BMR during CR. These energy savings may allow for the maintenance of elevated SPA in spite of reduced food intake. We conclude that the effect of CR on SPA is in large part determined by the initial level of BMR, whose variation may account for the lack of universal pattern of behavioural responses to CR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł Brzęk
- Department of Biology, University of Białystok, Ciołkowskiego 1J, 15-245 Białystok, Poland.
| | - Andrzej K Gębczyński
- Department of Biology, University of Białystok, Ciołkowskiego 1J, 15-245 Białystok, Poland
| | - Aneta Książek
- Department of Biology, University of Białystok, Ciołkowskiego 1J, 15-245 Białystok, Poland
| | - Marek Konarzewski
- Department of Biology, University of Białystok, Ciołkowskiego 1J, 15-245 Białystok, Poland
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Higginson AD, McNamara JM, Houston AI. Fatness and fitness: exposing the logic of evolutionary explanations for obesity. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20152443. [PMID: 26740612 PMCID: PMC4721100 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
To explore the logic of evolutionary explanations of obesity we modelled food consumption in an animal that minimizes mortality (starvation plus predation) by switching between activities that differ in energy gain and predation. We show that if switching does not incur extra predation risk, the animal should have a single threshold level of reserves above which it performs the safe activity and below which it performs the dangerous activity. The value of the threshold is determined by the environmental conditions, implying that animals should have variable 'set points'. Selection pressure to prevent energy stores exceeding the optimal level is usually weak, suggesting that immediate rewards might easily overcome the controls against becoming overweight. The risk of starvation can have a strong influence on the strategy even when starvation is extremely uncommon, so the incidence of mortality during famine in human history may be unimportant for explanations for obesity. If there is an extra risk of switching between activities, the animal should have two distinct thresholds: one to initiate weight gain and one to initiate weight loss. Contrary to the dual intervention point model, these thresholds will be inter-dependent, such that altering the predation risk alters the location of both thresholds; a result that undermines the evolutionary basis of the drifty genes hypothesis. Our work implies that understanding the causes of obesity can benefit from a better understanding of how evolution shapes the mechanisms that control body weight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D Higginson
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - John M McNamara
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TW, UK
| | - Alasdair I Houston
- School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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Vainik U, Dubé L, Lu J, Fellows LK. Personality and Situation Predictors of Consistent Eating Patterns. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0144134. [PMID: 26633707 PMCID: PMC4669243 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 11/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION A consistent eating style might be beneficial to avoid overeating in a food-rich environment. Eating consistency entails maintaining a similar dietary pattern across different eating situations. This construct is relatively under-studied, but the available evidence suggests that eating consistency supports successful weight maintenance and decreases risk for metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Yet, personality and situation predictors of consistency have not been studied. METHODS A community-based sample of 164 women completed various personality tests, and 139 of them also reported their eating behaviour 6 times/day over 10 observational days. We focused on observations with meals (breakfast, lunch, or dinner). The participants indicated if their momentary eating patterns were consistent with their own baseline eating patterns in terms of healthiness or size of the meal. Further, participants described various characteristics of each eating situation. RESULTS Eating consistency was positively predicted by trait self-control. Eating consistency was undermined by eating in the evening, eating with others, eating away from home, having consumed alcohol and having undertaken physical exercise. Interactions emerged between personality traits and situations, including punishment sensitivity, restraint, physical activity and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION Trait self-control and several eating situation variables were related to eating consistency. These findings provide a starting point for targeting interventions to improve consistency, suggesting that a focus on self-control skills, together with addressing contextual factors such as social situations and time of day, may be most promising. This work is a first step to provide people with the tools they need to maintain a consistently healthy lifestyle in a food-rich environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uku Vainik
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- * E-mail: .
| | - Laurette Dubé
- Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Ji Lu
- Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Lesley K. Fellows
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Ma X, Xu L, Mueller E. Calorie hoarding and thrifting: Foxa3 finds a way. Adipocyte 2015; 4:325-8. [PMID: 26451291 DOI: 10.1080/21623945.2015.1028700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2015] [Revised: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Obesity and diabetes are major health concerns worldwide. Western diets, often calorically rich, paired with sedentary habits are driving the current worldwide epidemic of pediatric and adult obesity. In addition, age related energy imbalances lead to increased adiposity and metabolic disorders later in life, making the middle aged population particularly susceptible. Here we discuss how Forkhead box A3 (Foxa3), a family member of the forkhead box binding proteins, can potentially contribute to pathology by playing a double role in metabolism. Recent data revealed that Foxa3 favors the selective expansion of visceral depots under high caloric conditions (e.g., high fat diet) and suppresses subcutaneous fat tissue energy expenditure during aging. This evidence suggests that Foxa3 acts to both preserve and conserve calories, by accumulating fat and by reducing metabolic burn. In other words, Foxa3 appears to function to enable energy "hoarding," which may be critical for survival of organisms with intermittent exposure to external caloric sources, but pathologic in circumstances where calories are abundant. Understanding how this "calorie hoarder gene" functions may suggest approaches to combat obesity and associated metabolic disorders.
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Müller MJ, Enderle J, Pourhassan M, Braun W, Eggeling B, Lagerpusch M, Glüer CC, Kehayias JJ, Kiosz D, Bosy-Westphal A. Metabolic adaptation to caloric restriction and subsequent refeeding: the Minnesota Starvation Experiment revisited. Am J Clin Nutr 2015; 102:807-19. [PMID: 26399868 DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.115.109173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2015] [Accepted: 07/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adaptive thermogenesis (AT) is the fat-free mass (FFM)-independent reduction of resting energy expenditure (REE) to caloric restriction (CR). AT attenuates weight loss and favors weight regain. Its variance, dynamics, and control remain obscure. OBJECTIVES Our aims were to address the variance and kinetics of AT, its associations with body composition in the context of endocrine determinants, and its effect on weight regain. DESIGN Thirty-two nonobese men underwent sequential overfeeding (1 wk at +50% of energy needs), CR (3 wk at -50% of energy needs), and refeeding (2 wk at +50% of energy needs). AT and its determinants were measured together with body composition as assessed with the use of quantitative magnetic resonance, whole-body MRI, isotope dilution, and nitrogen and fluid balances. RESULTS Changes in body weight were +1.8 kg (overfeeding), -6.0 kg (CR), and +3.5 kg (refeeding). CR reduced fat mass and FFM by 114 and 159 g/d, respectively. Within FFM, skeletal muscle (-5%), liver (-13%), and kidneys (-8%) decreased. CR also led to reductions in REE (-266 kcal/d), respiratory quotient (-15%), heart rate (-14%), blood pressure (-7%), creatinine clearance (-12%), energy cost of walking (-22%), activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) (-38%), and plasma leptin (-44%), insulin (-54%), adiponectin (-49%), 3,5,3'-tri-iodo-thyronine (T3) (-39%), and testosterone (-11%). AT was 108 kcal/d or 48% of the decrease in REE. Changes in FFM composition explained 36 kcal, which left 72 kcal/d for true AT. The decrease in AT became significant at ≤3 d of CR and was related to decreases in insulin secretion (r = 0.92, P < 0.001), heart rate (r = 0.60, P < 0.05), creatinine clearance (r = 0.79, P < 0.05), negative fluid balance (r = 0.51, P < 0.01), and the free water clearance rate (r = -0.90, P < 0.002). SNS activity and plasma leptin, ghrelin, and T3 and their changes with CR were not related to AT. CONCLUSION During early weight loss, AT is associated with a fall in insulin secretion and body fluid balance. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01737034.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Wiebke Braun
- Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science and
| | | | | | - Claus-Christian Glüer
- Clinic of Radiology and Neuroradiology, Biomedical Imaging, Molecular Imaging North Competence Centre, University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Joseph J Kehayias
- the Body Composition Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA; and
| | - Dieter Kiosz
- Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science and
| | - Anja Bosy-Westphal
- Institute of Nutritional Medicine, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
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Chaumontet C, Azzout-Marniche D, Blais A, Chalvon-Dermersay T, Nadkarni NA, Piedcoq J, Fromentin G, Tomé D, Even PC. Rats Prone to Obesity Under a High-Carbohydrate Diet have Increased Post-Meal CCK mRNA Expression and Characteristics of Rats Fed a High-Glycemic Index Diet. Front Nutr 2015. [PMID: 26217667 PMCID: PMC4497311 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2015.00022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We previously reported that rats prone to obesity exhibit an exaggerated increase in glucose oxidation and an exaggerated decline in lipid oxidation under a low-fat high-carbohydrate (LF/HC) diet. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanisms involved in these metabolic dysregulations. After a 1-week adaptation to laboratory conditions, 48 male Wistar rats were fed a LF/HC diet for 3 weeks. During weeks 2 and 3, glucose tolerance tests (GTT), insulin tolerance tests (ITT), and meal tolerance tests (MTT) were performed to evaluate blood glucose, plasma, and insulin. Glucose and lipid oxidation were also assayed during the GTT. At the end of the study, body composition was measured in all the rats, and they were classified as carbohydrate resistant (CR) or carbohydrate sensitive (CS) according to their adiposity. Before sacrifice, 24 of the 48 rats received a calibrated LF/HC meal. Liver, muscle, and intestine tissue samples were taken to measure mRNA expression of key genes involved in glucose, lipid, and protein metabolism. ITT, GTT, and MTT showed that CS rats were neither insulin resistant nor glucose intolerant, but mRNA expression of cholecystokinin (CCK) in the duodenum was higher and that of CPT1, PPARα, and PGC1α in liver were lower than in CR rats. From these results, we make the hypothesis that in CS rats, CCK increased pancreatic secretion, which may favor a quicker absorption of carbohydrates and consequently induces an enhanced inhibition of lipid oxidation in the liver, leading to a progressive accumulation of fat preferentially in visceral deposits. Such a mechanism may explain why CS rats share many characteristics observed in rats fed a high-glycemic index diet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Chaumontet
- UMR914, CRNH-IdF, INRA, Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior , Paris , France
| | - Dalila Azzout-Marniche
- UMR914, CRNH-IdF, AgroParisTech, Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior , Paris , France
| | - Anne Blais
- UMR914, CRNH-IdF, INRA, Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior , Paris , France
| | | | - Nachiket A Nadkarni
- Chaire Aliment, Nutrition, Comportement Alimentaire (ANCA), AgroParisTech , Paris , France
| | - Julien Piedcoq
- UMR914, CRNH-IdF, INRA, Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior , Paris , France
| | - Gilles Fromentin
- UMR914, CRNH-IdF, INRA, Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior , Paris , France
| | - Daniel Tomé
- UMR914, CRNH-IdF, AgroParisTech, Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior , Paris , France
| | - Patrick C Even
- UMR914, CRNH-IdF, INRA, Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior , Paris , France
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Rossier BC, Baker ME, Studer RA. Epithelial sodium transport and its control by aldosterone: the story of our internal environment revisited. Physiol Rev 2015; 95:297-340. [PMID: 25540145 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00011.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription and translation require a high concentration of potassium across the entire tree of life. The conservation of a high intracellular potassium was an absolute requirement for the evolution of life on Earth. This was achieved by the interplay of P- and V-ATPases that can set up electrochemical gradients across the cell membrane, an energetically costly process requiring the synthesis of ATP by F-ATPases. In animals, the control of an extracellular compartment was achieved by the emergence of multicellular organisms able to produce tight epithelial barriers creating a stable extracellular milieu. Finally, the adaptation to a terrestrian environment was achieved by the evolution of distinct regulatory pathways allowing salt and water conservation. In this review we emphasize the critical and dual role of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in the control of the ionic composition of the extracellular fluid and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in salt and water conservation in vertebrates. The action of aldosterone on transepithelial sodium transport by activation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) at the apical membrane and that of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase at the basolateral membrane may have evolved in lungfish before the emergence of tetrapods. Finally, we discuss the implication of RAAS in the origin of the present pandemia of hypertension and its associated cardiovascular diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard C Rossier
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; and Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael E Baker
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; and Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Romain A Studer
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; and Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Ferguson TW, Andercheck B, Tom JC, Martinez BC, Stroope S. Occupational conditions, self-care, and obesity among clergy in the United States. SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH 2015; 49:249-263. [PMID: 25432617 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2013] [Revised: 08/11/2014] [Accepted: 08/17/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Prior research has shown that a variety of occupational conditions such as long work hours are associated with increased likelihood of obesity. In this study, we use the specific case of the clergy to explore how occupational conditions are linked to increased or decreased odds of being obese. We hypothesize that stressful conditions are associated with increased odds of obesity and that self-care practices are associated with decreased odds. Using the 2008/9 U.S. Congregational Life Survey's national sample of clergy from multiple religious traditions, we find support for our hypotheses. Clergy who experience more stress, work more hours, or are bi-vocational have higher odds of obesity. Those who take a day off each week, have taken a sabbatical, or are involved in a support group experience lower odds. For Protestant clergy, being involved in a support group or taking a day off moderates the association between certain stressful occupational conditions and obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd W Ferguson
- Department of Sociology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97326, Waco, TX 76798, United States.
| | - Brita Andercheck
- Department of Sociology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97326, Waco, TX 76798, United States
| | - Joshua C Tom
- Department of Sociology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97326, Waco, TX 76798, United States
| | - Brandon C Martinez
- Department of Sociology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97326, Waco, TX 76798, United States
| | - Samuel Stroope
- Department of Sociology, Louisiana State University, 126 Stubbs Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, United States
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Wang SP, Yang H, Wu JW, Gauthier N, Fukao T, Mitchell GA. Metabolism as a tool for understanding human brain evolution: lipid energy metabolism as an example. J Hum Evol 2014; 77:41-9. [PMID: 25488255 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2013] [Revised: 03/24/2014] [Accepted: 06/18/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Genes and the environment both influence the metabolic processes that determine fitness. To illustrate the importance of metabolism for human brain evolution and health, we use the example of lipid energy metabolism, i.e. the use of fat (lipid) to produce energy and the advantages that this metabolic pathway provides for the brain during environmental energy shortage. We briefly describe some features of metabolism in ancestral organisms, which provided a molecular toolkit for later development. In modern humans, lipid energy metabolism is a regulated multi-organ pathway that links triglycerides in fat tissue to the mitochondria of many tissues including the brain. Three important control points are each suppressed by insulin. (1) Lipid reserves in adipose tissue are released by lipolysis during fasting and stress, producing fatty acids (FAs) which circulate in the blood and are taken up by cells. (2) FA oxidation. Mitochondrial entry is controlled by carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT1). Inside the mitochondria, FAs undergo beta oxidation and energy production in the Krebs cycle and respiratory chain. (3) In liver mitochondria, the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) pathway produces ketone bodies for the brain and other organs. Unlike most tissues, the brain does not capture and metabolize circulating FAs for energy production. However, the brain can use ketone bodies for energy. We discuss two examples of genetic metabolic traits that may be advantageous under most conditions but deleterious in others. (1) A CPT1A variant prevalent in Inuit people may allow increased FA oxidation under nonfasting conditions but also predispose to hypoglycemic episodes. (2) The thrifty genotype theory, which holds that energy expenditure is efficient so as to maximize energy stores, predicts that these adaptations may enhance survival in periods of famine but predispose to obesity in modern dietary environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Pei Wang
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal and CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montreal H3T 1C5, QC, Canada
| | - Hao Yang
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal and CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montreal H3T 1C5, QC, Canada; Laboratory of Animal Fat Deposition and Muscle Development, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Jiang Wei Wu
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal and CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montreal H3T 1C5, QC, Canada
| | - Nicolas Gauthier
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal and CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montreal H3T 1C5, QC, Canada
| | - Toshiyuki Fukao
- Department of Pediatrics, Gifu University School of Medicine, Gifu 500, Japan
| | - Grant A Mitchell
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal and CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montreal H3T 1C5, QC, Canada.
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Valera B, Sohani Z, Rana A, Poirier P, Anand SS. The ethnoepidemiology of obesity. Can J Cardiol 2014; 31:131-41. [PMID: 25661548 DOI: 10.1016/j.cjca.2014.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2014] [Revised: 10/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of overweight and obesity varies significantly across ethnic groups and among aboriginal people in Canada and appears to be increasing overall in children and youth, which will have significant health consequences in the future. Individual health behaviours, genetic predisposition, and community-level factors all contribute to the high burden of overweight and obesity across communities in Canada. Preliminary studies indicate that individuals who live in neighbourhoods in Canada with increased walkability, fewer fast food outlets, and higher socioeconomic status have lower rates of overweight/obesity when compared with other neighbourhoods. However, more research is required to understand the impact of community level factors on overweight/obesity trends in Canadian ethnic groups, including children and youth, and aboriginal people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Valera
- Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Zahra Sohani
- Population Genomics Program, Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Chanchlani Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ayesha Rana
- Population Genomics Program, Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Chanchlani Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Paul Poirier
- Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada; Faculté de pharmacie de l'Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Sonia S Anand
- Population Genomics Program, Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Chanchlani Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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Smyers ME, Bachir KZ, Britton SL, Koch LG, Novak CM. Physically active rats lose more weight during calorie restriction. Physiol Behav 2014; 139:303-13. [PMID: 25449411 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.11.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2014] [Revised: 11/04/2014] [Accepted: 11/05/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Daily physical activity shows substantial inter-individual variation, and low physical activity is associated with obesity and weight gain. Elevated physical activity is also associated with high intrinsic aerobic capacity, which confers considerable metabolic health benefits. Rats artificially selected for high intrinsic aerobic capacity (high-capacity runners, HCR) are more physically active than their low-capacity counterparts (low-capacity runners, LCR). To test the hypothesis that physical activity counters metabolic thriftiness, we measured physical activity and weight loss during three weeks of 50% calorie restriction (CR) in the HCR and LCR rat lines. At baseline, HCR ate more and were more active than LCR; this was seen in male rats, where LCR are considerably heavier than HCR, as well as in a set of female rats where body weight did not differ between the lines, demonstrating that this effect is consistent across sex and not secondary to body weight. We show for the first time that HCR lose more weight than LCR relative to baseline. Physical activity levels declined throughout CR, and this was more pronounced in HCR than in LCR, yet some aspects of activity remained elevated in HCR relative to LCR even during CR. This is consistent with the idea that low physical activity contributes to metabolic thriftiness during food restriction, allowing LCR to defend body mass, particularly lean mass. This has implications for physical activity during diet-induced weight loss, the genetic underpinnings of individual differences in weight loss during a diet, and the potential evolutionary opposition between metabolic thriftiness and aerobic capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E Smyers
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA.
| | - Kailey Z Bachir
- College of Health Sciences, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Steven L Britton
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Lauren G Koch
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Colleen M Novak
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
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Novel genomic signals of recent selection in an Ethiopian population. Eur J Hum Genet 2014; 23:1085-92. [PMID: 25370040 DOI: 10.1038/ejhg.2014.233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2014] [Revised: 09/17/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent feasibility of genome-wide studies of adaptation in human populations has provided novel insights into biological pathways that have been affected by adaptive pressures. However, only a few African populations have been investigated using these genome-wide approaches. Here, we performed a genome-wide analysis for evidence of recent positive selection in a sample of 120 individuals of Wolaita ethnicity belonging to Omotic-speaking people who have inhabited the mid- and high-land areas of southern Ethiopia for millennia. Using the 11 HapMap populations as the comparison group, we found Wolaita-specific signals of recent positive selection in several human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci. Notably, the selected loci overlapped with HLA regions that we previously reported to be associated with podoconiosis-a geochemical lymphedema of the lower legs common in the Wolaita area. We found selection signals in PPARA, a gene involved in energy metabolism during prolonged food deficiency. This finding is consistent with the dietary use of enset, a crop with high-carbohydrate and low-fat and -protein contents domesticated in Ethiopia subsequent to food deprivation 10 000 years ago, and with metabolic adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia. We observed novel selection signals in CDKAL1 and NEGR1, well-known diabetes and obesity susceptibility genes. Finally, the SLC24A5 gene locus known to be associated with skin pigmentation was in the top selection signals in the Wolaita, and the alleles of single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs1426654 and rs1834640 (SLC24A5) associated with light skin pigmentation in Eurasian populations were of high frequency (47.9%) in this Omotic-speaking indigenous Ethiopian population.
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Koh XH, Liu X, Teo YY. Can evidence from genome-wide association studies and positive natural selection surveys be used to evaluate the thrifty gene hypothesis in East Asians? PLoS One 2014; 9:e110974. [PMID: 25337808 PMCID: PMC4206456 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Body fat deposition and distribution differ between East Asians and Europeans, and for the same level of obesity, East Asians are at higher risks of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and other metabolic disorders. This observation has prompted the reclassifications of body mass index thresholds for the definitions of “overweight” and “obese” in East Asians. However, the question remains over what evolutionary mechanisms have driven the differences in adiposity morphology between two population groups that shared a common ancestor less than 80,000 years ago. The Thrifty Gene hypothesis has been suggested as a possible explanation, where genetic factors that allowed for efficient food-energy conversion and storage are evolutionarily favoured by conferring increased chances of survival and fertility. Here, we leveraged on the existing findings from genome-wide association studies and large-scale surveys of positive natural selection to evaluate whether there is currently any evidence to support the Thrifty Gene hypothesis. We first assess whether the existing genetic associations with obesity and T2D are located in genomic regions that are reported to be under positive selection, and if so, whether the risk alleles sit on the extended haplotype forms. In addition, we interrogate whether these risk alleles are the derived forms that differ from the ancestral alleles, and whether there is significant evidence of population differentiation at these SNPs between East Asian and European populations. Our systematic survey did not yield conclusive evidence to support the Thrifty Gene hypothesis as a possible explanation for the differences observed between East Asians and Europeans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan-Han Koh
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Xuanyao Liu
- NUS Graduate School for Integrative Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yik-Ying Teo
- NUS Graduate School for Integrative Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Statistics and Applied Probability, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
- * E-mail:
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Diane A, Vine DF, Russell JC, Heth CD, Pierce WD, Proctor SD. Interrelationship of CB1R and OBR pathways in regulation of metabolic, neuroendocrine, and behavioral responses to food restriction and voluntary wheel running. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2014; 117:97-104. [PMID: 24903921 DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01303.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
We hypothesized the cannabinoid-1 receptor and leptin receptor (ObR) operate synergistically to modulate metabolic, neuroendocrine, and behavioral responses of animals exposed to a survival challenge (food restriction and wheel running). Obese-prone (OP) JCR:LA-cp rats, lacking functional ObR, and lean-prone (LP) JCR:LA-cp rats (intact ObR) were assigned to OP-C and LP-C (control) or CBR1-antagonized (SR141716, 10 mg/kg body wt in food) OP-A and LP-A groups. After 32 days, all rats were exposed to 1.5-h daily meals without the drug and 22.5-h voluntary wheel running, a survival challenge that normally culminates in activity-based anorexia (ABA). Rats were removed from the ABA protocol when body weight reached 75% of entry weight (starvation criterion) or after 14 days (survival criterion). LP-A rats starved faster (6.44 ± 0.24 days) than LP-C animals (8.00 ± 0.29 days); all OP rats survived the ABA challenge. LP-A rats lost weight faster than animals in all other groups (P < 0.001). Consistent with the starvation results, LP-A rats increased the rate of wheel running more rapidly than LP-C rats (P = 0.001), with no difference in hypothalamic and primary neural reward serotonin levels. In contrast, OP-A rats showed suppression of wheel running compared with the OP-C group (days 6-14 of ABA challenge, P < 0.001) and decreased hypothalamic and neural reward serotonin levels (P < 0.01). Thus there is an interrelationship between cannabinoid-1 receptor and ObR pathways in regulation of energy balance and physical activity. Effective clinical measures to prevent and treat a variety of disorders will require understanding of the mechanisms underlying these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdoulaye Diane
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Donna F Vine
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - James C Russell
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - C Donald Heth
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - W David Pierce
- Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; and
| | - Spencer D Proctor
- Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory, Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
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Abstract
Obesity is an escalating threat of pandemic proportions, currently affecting billions of people worldwide and exerting a devastating socioeconomic influence in industrialized countries. Despite intensive efforts to curtail obesity, results have proved disappointing. Although it is well recognized that obesity is a result of gene-environment interactions and that predisposition to obesity lies predominantly in our evolutionary past, there is much debate as to the precise nature of how our evolutionary past contributed to obesity. The "thrifty genotype" hypothesis suggests that obesity in industrialized countries is a throwback to our ancestors having undergone positive selection for genes that favored energy storage as a consequence of the cyclical episodes of famine and surplus after the advent of farming 10 000 years ago. Conversely, the "drifty genotype" hypothesis contends that the prevalence of thrifty genes is not a result of positive selection for energy-storage genes but attributable to genetic drift resulting from the removal of predative selection pressures. Both theories, however, assume that selection pressures the ancestors of modern humans living in western societies faced were the same. Moreover, neither theory adequately explains the impact of globalization and changing population demographics on the genetic basis for obesity in developed countries, despite clear evidence for ethnic variation in obesity susceptibility and related metabolic disorders. In this article, we propose that the modern obesity pandemic in industrialized countries is a result of the differential exposure of the ancestors of modern humans to environmental factors that began when modern humans left Africa around 70 000 years ago and migrated through the globe, reaching the Americas around 20 000 years ago. This article serves to elucidate how an understanding of ethnic differences in genetic susceptibility to obesity and the metabolic syndrome, in the context of historic human population redistribution, could be used in the treatment of obesity in industrialized countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dyan Sellayah
- MRC Harwell (D.S., R.D.C.), Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Harwell OX11 ORD, United Kingdom; Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (D.S.), University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PT, United Kingdom; and Institute of Developmental Sciences (F.R.C.), University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, United Kingdom
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Speakman JR. Evolutionary perspectives on the obesity epidemic: adaptive, maladaptive, and neutral viewpoints. Annu Rev Nutr 2014; 33:289-317. [PMID: 23862645 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071811-150711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The prevalence of obesity in modern societies has two major contributory factors-an environmental change that has happened in historical times and a genetic predisposition that has its origins in our evolutionary history. Understanding both aspects is complex. From an evolutionary perspective, three different types of explanation have been proposed. The first is that obesity was once adaptive and enabled us to survive (or sustain fecundity) through periods of famine. People carrying so-called thrifty genes that enabled the efficient storage of energy as fat between famines would be at a selective advantage. In the modern world, however, people who have inherited these genes deposit fat in preparation for a famine that never comes, and the result is widespread obesity. The key problem with this, and any other adaptive scenario, is to understand why, if obesity was historically so advantageous, many people did not inherit these thrifty genes and in modern society are able to remain slim, despite the environmental change favoring fat storage. The second type of explanation is that obesity is not adaptive and may never even have existed in our evolutionary past, but it is favored today as a maladaptive by-product of positive selection on some other trait. An example of this type of explanation is the suggestion that obesity results from variation in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis. Finally, a third class of explanation is that most mutations in the genes that predispose us to obesity are neutral and have been drifting over evolutionary time--so-called drifty genes, leading some individuals to be obesity prone and others obesity resistant. In this article, I review the current evidence for and against these three different scenarios and conclude that the thrifty gene hypothesis is untenable but the other two ideas may provide a cogent explanation of the modern obesity phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Speakman
- Key State Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China.
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