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Higher daily step counts can help reduce the genetic risk for obesity, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open.
Previous study findings have indicated that genetic factors contribute to obesity risk. However, emerging evidence shows that increasing physical activity mitigates the higher genetic risk for obesity.
To gather long-term data on the combined association of genetic risk for body mass index (BMI) plus physical activity and risk for incident obesity, researchers conducted a cohort study utilizing longitudinal activity monitoring and genome sequencing data from the All of Us Research Program (AoURP) between May 2018 and July 2022. Participants were individuals with a BMI of less than 30 kg/m2 at study baseline.
The primary outcome was incident obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2).
The study included 3051 participants (median age, 52.7 years), of whom 73% were women and 95% were White. The media follow-up time was 5.4 years and the median rate of daily steps was 8326 steps/d.
Obesity incidence was significantly lower at 13% in the lowest PRS quartile and escalated to 43% in the highest PRS quartile (P =1.0 × 10−20). The researchers noted a reduction in median daily steps from the lowest PRS quartile (8599 steps/d; interquartile range [IQR], 6751-10,768) to the highest PRS quartile (8115 steps/d; IQR, 6340-10,187; P =.01).
The researchers identified a direct, linear association between PRS and the incidence of obesity (P =.001) and independent associations between obesity risk and both daily step count and PRS.
“These results have important clinical and public health implications and may offer a novel strategy for addressing the obesity epidemic by informing activity recommendations that incorporate genetic information.
Compared with the 25th percentile of PRS, individuals in the 75th percentile had an 81% increased risk for obesity (hazard ratio [HR], 1.81; 95% CI, 1.59-2.05; P =3.57 × 10−20). A median daily step count in the 75th percentile, compared with the 25th percentile, correlated with a 43% reduction in obesity risk (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.49-0.67; P =5.30 × 10−12).
To mitigate obesity risk to an HR of 1.00, individuals in the 75th percentile of PRS needed to walk an additional 2280 steps daily for a total of 11,020 steps, whereas those in the 25th percentile of PRS could walk 3660 fewer steps. At the cohort median daily step count of 8740, participants in the 75th percentile of PRS had an increased risk for obesity (HR, 1.33; 9%% CI, 1.25-1.41), whereas the participants in the 25th percentile of PRS had a reduced risk for obesity (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.69-0.79).
In the stratification by baseline BMI, a substantially increased daily step count was required to maintain an HR of 1.00 for obesity among participants with higher BMI.
Study limitations include a lack of participant diversity, unmeasured confounding variables, and the unavailability of nongenetic factors that contribute to obesity.
The researchers concluded, “These results have important clinical and public health implications and may offer a novel strategy for addressing the obesity epidemic by informing activity recommendations that incorporate genetic information.”
Disclosure: Multiple study authors reported affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.
This article originally appeared on Endocrinology Advisor