New clues in childhood obesity puzzle: study
New evidence from New Zealand’s contemporary longitudinal study Growing Up in New Zealand shows how genes and the environment may interact to promote obesity.
The research published online today in the International Journal of Obesity investigated the occurrence of a genetic variant in the CREBRF gene in more than 5,000 children participating in the Growing Up in New Zealandstudy. Investigators at the University of Auckland Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara ki Mua found that this
genetic variant was associated with increases in children’s weight, height and waist circumference at four years of age,
particularly in boys. They also found this variant was more common in Māori and Pacific children.
Previous international research has connected this genetic variant to increased body mass index in Samoan adults, but
this investigation provides new understanding of genetic variation in the New Zealand child population, including across
diverse Pacific ethnic groups.
The University of Auckland researchers also discovered that while this DNA variation was related to weight at four years
of age, children with the CREBRF variant had no difference in birthweight or weight and height at two years of age. This
finding raises the possibility that the environment that people live in is able to modify the effect that the genetic
variant has on body size.
Lead investigator Dr Sarah Berry says that this new knowledge offers the potential for evidence-based interventions
aimed at establishing healthy growth trajectories from the earliest possible age.
“Our research represents an important step toward understanding the interactions between our diet, lifestyle, and
genetic make-up.
“Being able to look at anonymous, population-level data from Growing Up in New Zealand provides us with the unique opportunity to figure out why people are the way they are, and to create new opportunities
for improving health outcomes” says Dr Berry.
The findings contribute important information to national and international strategies to tackle childhood obesity.
These include the New Zealand Ministry of Health Childhood Obesity plan, which focuses on food choices and the impact of
the environment in the earliest stages of life.
The discovery demonstrates the power and diversity of the internationally recognised Growing Up in New Zealand study, which has collected detailed information about the cohort children and their families over the course of the
children’s lives.
The Growing Up in New Zealand cohort reflects the national diversity of the New Zealand child population, including Māori (25 percent), Pacific (21
percent). European (68 percent) and Asian (18 percent) children.
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