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Common genetic variation near MC4R is associated with eating behaviour patterns in European populations

International Journal of Obesity volume 33, pages 373–378 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Both rs17782313 (near MC4R) and rs1421085 (FTO) polymorphisms have been consistently associated with increased risk of obesity and with body mass index (BMI) variation. An effect of both polymorphisms on satiety has recently been suggested. We genotyped rs17782313 and rs1421085 in 5764 relatives from 1109 French pedigrees with familial obesity, 1274 Swiss class III obese adults as well as in 4877 French adults and 5612 Finnish teenagers from two randomly selected population cohorts. In all subjects, eating behaviour traits were documented through questionnaires. We first assessed the association of both single nucleotide polymorphisms with BMI and then studied eating behaviour. Under an additive model, the rs17782313-C MC4R allele showed a trend towards higher percentages of snacking in both French obese children (P=0.01) and Swiss obese adults (P=0.04) as well as in adolescents from the Finnish general population (P=0.04). In French adults with familial obesity, this allele tended to be also associated with a higher Stunkard hunger score (P=0.02) and in obese children with a higher prevalence of eating large amounts of food (P=0.04). However, no consistent association of the FTO rs1421085-C allele and available eating behaviour trait was found in our studied populations. The rs17782313-C allele nearby MC4R may modulate eating behaviour-related phenotypes in European obese and randomly selected populations, in both children and adults, supporting a regulatory role of this genetic variant on eating behaviour, as previously shown for MC4R non-synonymous loss-of-function mutations. The potential effect of the obesity-associated FTO gene on eating behaviour deserves additional investigation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the patients and families who participated in this study. This work was supported in part by Conseil Regional Nord-Pas de Calais and ‘Association Française des Diabétiques’ funding. The NFBC study was conducted with the support of the Academy of Finland and the European Commission (Framework 5 award QLG1-CT-2000-01643). We thank Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie for her contribution in DNA extraction and distribution.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS-8090-Institute of Biology, Pasteur Institute, Lille, France

    F Stutzmann, S Cauchi, E Durand, C Calvacanti-Proença, D Meyre & P Froguel

  2. Department of Nutrition, Hospital University, Lille, France

    M Pigeyre

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    A-L Hartikainen

  4. Department of epidemiology and public health, Imperial College London, London, UK

    U Sovio & M-R Järvelin

  5. IRSA, La Riche, France

    J Tichet

  6. INSERM U695, Bichat Hospital, Paris, France

    M Marre

  7. Pediatric Endocrine Unit, Jeanne de Flandre Hospital, Lille, France

    J Weill

  8. INSERM U780-IFR69, Paris Sud University, Villejuif, France

    B Balkau

  9. Klinik Lindberg, Winterthur, Switzerland

    N Potoczna & F Horber

  10. National Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland

    J Laitinen

  11. Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    P Elliott & M-R Järvelin

  12. Department of Child and Adolescent Health, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland

    P Elliott & M-R Järvelin

  13. Department of Genomic Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK

    P Froguel

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  1. F Stutzmann
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  2. S Cauchi
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  3. E Durand
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  10. J Weill
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  14. P Elliott
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  16. F Horber
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  17. D Meyre
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D Meyre.

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The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

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Stutzmann, F., Cauchi, S., Durand, E. et al. Common genetic variation near MC4R is associated with eating behaviour patterns in European populations. Int J Obes 33, 373–378 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.279

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.279

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