The role of macronutrient intake in reducing the risk of obesity and overweight among carriers of different polymorphisms of FTO gene. A review

Obesity is a growing problem worldwide. The risk of the excessive body weight occurrence is a multifactorial issue. Environmental factors, lifestyle habits, diet, physical activity level, as well as genetic predisposition can increase obesity risk. One of the genes studied – the FTO gene - plays a crucial role in obesity occurrence. Individuals who carry risk alleles of specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) have a greater risk of being overweight. Recent studies revealed that specific macronutrient diet composition can influence differently on the FTO expression. The aim of this article is to review the recent literature on the topic of the FTO gene, its influence on overweight and obesity prevalence and the role of diet in modifying its impact on the risk of the excessive body weight occurrence. There are not many studies focusing on the dietary intervention influence on the FTO gene expression. As far as it has been researched it seems that the proper dietary habits can modify the FTO gene risk allele influence on obesity susceptibility.