Sugary Beverages Linked to Increase Genetic risk of Obesity

There were several studies conducted that linked the consumption of sugar- sweetened beverages (SSBs) to obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes but none focused on the environmental factors.

But the researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health have linked the greater consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with greater genetic susceptibility to high body mass index (BMI) and increased risk of obesity.

This study highlights the fact that environmental and genetic factors may act together to shape obesity risk.

The details of this study were carried in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Our study for the first time provides reproducible evidence from three prospective cohorts to show genetic and dietary factors -- sugar-sweetened beverages -- may mutually influence their effects on body weight and obesity risk. The findings may motivate further research on interactions between genomic variation and environmental factors regarding human health," said Lu Qi, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH and senior author of the study.

There was a sudden rise in the consumption of SSB worldwide.  The study was based on the data from three large cohorts, 121,700 women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), 51,529 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and 25,000 in the Women's Genome Health Study (WGHS). All of the participants had completed food-frequency questionnaires detailing their food and drink consumption over time.

The researchers analyzed data from women from NHS and WGHS, men from HPFS who were of European ancestry and for whom genotype data based on genome-wide association studies were available. Based on the sugary drinks they consume, the participants were divided into four groups they are, less than one serving of SSB per month, between 1-4 servings per month, between 2-6 servings per week, and one or more servings per day. They also calculated the genetic predisposition score on the basis of the 32 single-nucleotide polymorphisms known to be associated with BMI.

The researchers noticed that the genetic effects on BMI and obesity risk among those who drank one or more SSBs per day were about twice as large as those who consumed less than one serving per month. 

The findings suggest that regular consumption of sugary beverages may amplify the genetic risk of obesity. In addition, individuals with greater genetic predisposition to obesity appear to be more susceptible to harmful effects of SSBs on BMI.

"SSBs are one of the driving forces behind the obesity epidemic," says Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH and a coauthor of this study. "The implication of our study is that the genetic effects of obesity can be offset by healthier food and beverage choices."