Short-term weight loss in overweight/obese low-income women improves plasma zinc and metabolic syndrome risk factors.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of disorders involving obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Obesity is the most crucial risk factor of metabolic syndrome, because it is known to precede other risk factors. Obesity is also associated with disturbances in the metabolism of the trace mineral, zinc.

Pleiotropic effects on subclasses of HDL, adiposity, and glucose metabolism in adult Alaskan Eskimos.

The aim of this study was to analyze the heritability and the presence of pleiotropic effects on subfractions of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) as measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), parameters for adiposity, and glucose metabolism in adult Alaskan Eskimos. The present family study included 1,214 adult Alaskan Eskimos (537 male/677 female). Body weight, height, circumferences, selected skinfolds, and blood pressure were measured in all participants.

Evidence that multiple genetic variants of MC4R play a functional role in the regulation of energy expenditure and appetite in Hispanic children.

Background: Melanocortin-4-receptor (MC4R) haploinsufficiency is the most common form of monogenic obesity; however, the frequency of MC4R variants and their functional effects in general populations remain uncertain.

Objective: The aim was to identify and characterize the effects of MC4R variants in Hispanic children.

Design: MC4R was resequenced in 376 parents, and the identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 613 parents and 1016 children from the Viva la Familia cohort.

A nutrition and physical activity intervention promotes weight loss and enhances diet attitudes in low-income mothers of young children.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a nutrition and physical activity program for reducing body weight and improving nutrition attitudes in mothers of young children. A convenience sample of 114 intervention mothers and 33 comparison mothers was recruited from public health clinics and community centers. Eligibility criteria included Hispanic, African American, or white ethnicity; body mass index of at least 25 kg/m(2); low income (< 200% of the federal poverty index); and youngest child aged 1 to 4 years.

A genetic contribution to circulating cytokines and obesity in children.

Cytokines are considered to be involved in obesity-related metabolic diseases. Study objectives are to determine the heritability of circulating cytokine levels, to investigate pleiotropy between cytokines and obesity traits, and to present genome scan results for cytokines in 1030 Hispanic children enrolled in VIVA LA FAMILIA Study. Cytokine phenotypes included monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), leptin, adiponectin, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1), C-reactive protein (CRP), regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and eotaxin.

A quantitative trait locus on chromosome 13q affects fasting glucose levels in Hispanic children.

Objective: The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the United States. Early presentation of type 2 diabetes has been observed in children and adolescents, especially in the Hispanic population. The genetic contribution of glucose homeostasis related to childhood obesity is poorly understood.

A chromosome 11q quantitative-trait locus influences change of blood-pressure measurements over time in Mexican Americans of the San Antonio Family Heart Study.

Although previous genome scans have searched for quantitative-trait loci (QTLs) influencing variation in blood pressure (BP), few have investigated the rate of change in BP over time as a phenotype. Here, we compare results from genomewide scans to localize QTLs for systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial BPs (SBP, DBP, and MBP, respectively) and for rates of change in systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial BPs (rSBP, rDBP, and rMBP, respectively), with use of the longitudinal data collected about Mexican Americans of the San Antonio Family Heart Study (SAFHS). Significant evidence of linkage was found for rSBP (LOD 4.

Genome-wide scan for serum ghrelin detects linkage on chromosome 1p36 in Hispanic children: results from the Viva La Familia study.

This study was conducted to investigate genetic influence on serum ghrelin and its relationship with adiposity-related phenotypes in Hispanic children (n=1030) from the Viva La Familia study (VFS). Anthropometric measurements and levels of serum ghrelin were estimated and genetic analyses conducted according to standard procedures. Mean age, body mass index (BMI), and serum ghrelin were 11+/-0.

Low-income, overweight and obese mothers as agents of change to improve food choices, fat habits, and physical activity in their 1-to-3-year-old children.

Objective: To examine the effects of a weight loss program for mothers on the diet and activity of mothers and their 1-3 year old children.

Design: Overweight and obese mothers participated in an 8-week weight loss intervention encompassing diet, physical activity, and behavioral modification. Anthropometrics, demographic, dietary, and physical activity questionnaires were administered at weeks 0 and 8; anthropometrics were re-evaluated at week 24.

Heritability of hyperphagic eating behavior and appetite-related hormones among Hispanic children.

Objective: Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) may be a genetically influenced phenotype of overweight children, but evidence is limited. This research evaluated the heritability (h(2)) of EAH and its association with overweight among Hispanic children 5 to 18 years old. Genetic and environmental associations of EAH with overweight, fat mass, and key hormonal regulators of food intake were also evaluated.

Metabolic and behavioral predictors of weight gain in Hispanic children: the Viva la Familia Study.

Background: Despite the high prevalence of overweight among Hispanic children in the United States, definitive predictors of weight gain have not been identified in this population.

Objective: The study objective was to test sociodemographic, metabolic, and behavioral predictors of 1-y weight gains in a large cohort of Hispanic children studied longitudinally.

Design: Subjects (n = 879) were siblings from 319 Hispanic families enrolled in the Viva la Familia Study.

Bivariate linkage confirms genetic contribution to fetal origins of childhood growth and cardiovascular disease risk in Hispanic children.

Birth weight has been shown to be associated with obesity and metabolic diseases in adulthood, however, the genetic contribution is still controversial. The objective of this analysis is to explore the genetic contribution to the relationship between birth weight and later risk for obesity and metabolic diseases in Hispanic children. Subjects were 1,030 Hispanic children in the Viva La Familia Study.

Heritability of determinants of the metabolic syndrome among healthy Arabs of the Oman family study.

The metabolic syndrome, as defined by the International Diabetes Federation, was investigated in five large, extended, highly consanguineous, healthy Omani Arab families of a total of 1277 individuals. Heritability (h2) of the phenotypic abnormalities that make up the syndrome and other related traits was estimated by variance decomposition method using SOLAR software. The overall prevalence of the syndrome was 23%.

A quantitative trait locus on chromosome 18q for physical activity and dietary intake in Hispanic children.

Objective: Genetic components of energy homeostasis contributing to childhood obesity are poorly understood. Genome scans were performed to identify chromosomal regions contributing to physical activity and dietary intake traits in Hispanic children participating in the VIVA LA FAMILIA Study.

Research Methods And Procedures: We report linkage findings on chromosome 18 for physical activity and dietary intake in 1030 siblings from 319 Hispanic families.

Viva la Familia Study: genetic and environmental contributions to childhood obesity and its comorbidities in the Hispanic population.

Background: Genetic and environmental contributions to childhood obesity are poorly delineated.

Objective: The Viva la Familia Study was designed to genetically map childhood obesity and its comorbidities in the Hispanic population. The objectives of this report were to describe the study design and to summarize genetic and environmental contributions to the phenotypic variation in obesity and risk factors for metabolic diseases in Hispanic children.

Common set of genes regulates low-density lipoprotein size and obesity-related factors in Alaskan Eskimos: results from the GOCADAN study.

Increasing incidence of cardiovascular disease in traditionally low-risk Alaskan Eskimos is a cause for concern. The purpose of this study was to examine the genetic and environmental correlations of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) subfractions with obesity-related factors in Alaskan Eskimos, using data from the first 954 participants of the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives Study. Estimates of genetic and environmental influence were calculated using a maximum likelihood variance component method implemented in SOLAR.

Nutrition knowledge is associated with greater weight loss in obese and overweight low-income mothers.

Objective: To examine if greater nutrition knowledge vs gains in knowledge promote more successful weight loss in low-income, overweight and obese mothers with young children.

Design: A convenience sample of mothers and their children were measured for height and weight; mothers completed demographic and nutrition knowledge questionnaires pre- and post-intervention.

Subjects/setting: Participants (N=141) were recruited from government and public health clinics and elementary schools.

Quantitative genetic analysis of the metabolic syndrome in Hispanic children.

Childhood obesity is associated with a constellation of metabolic derangements including glucose intolerance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, referred to as metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this study was to investigate genetic and environmental factors contributing to the metabolic syndrome in Hispanic children. Metabolic syndrome, defined as having three or more metabolic risk components, was determined in 1030 Hispanic children, ages 4-19 y, from 319 families enrolled in the VIVA LA FAMILIA study.

Genetic variation in selenoprotein S influences inflammatory response.

Chronic inflammation has a pathological role in many common diseases and is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Here we assess the role of genetic variation in selenoprotein S (SEPS1, also called SELS or SELENOS), a gene involved in stress response in the endoplasmic reticulum and inflammation control. After resequencing SEPS1, we genotyped 13 SNPs in 522 individuals from 92 families.

Principal component for metabolic syndrome risk maps to chromosome 4p in Mexican Americans: the San Antonio Family Heart Study.

Metabolic syndrome refers to the clustering of disease conditions such as insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity. To explore the genetic predispositions of this complex syndrome, we conducted a principal components analysis using data on 14 phenotypes related to the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. The subjects were 566 nondiabetic Mexican Americans, distributed in 41 extended families from the San Antonio Family Heart Study.

Pleiotropic effects of genes for insulin resistance on adiposity in baboons.

Objective: Previous research has suggested a genetic contribution to the development of insulin resistance and obesity. We hypothesized that the same genes influencing insulin resistance might also contribute to the variation in adiposity.

Research Methods And Procedures: A total of 601 (200 male, 401 female) adult baboons (Papio hamadryas) from nine families with pedigrees ranging in size from 43 to 121 were used in this study.

Quantitative genetic analysis of glucose transporter 4 mRNA levels in baboon adipose.

Objective: Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) is an insulin-responsive glucose transporter expressed in adipose tissue. A decrease of the mRNA abundance of GLUT4 in adipose tissue has been observed in conditions of insulin resistance. The objective was to conduct quantitative genetic analyses using GLUT4 mRNA levels in omental adipose tissue of baboons as a novel phenotype.

Quantitative trait locus determining dietary macronutrient intakes is located on human chromosome 2p22.

Background: Obesity is generally accompanied by increased food intake.

Objective: We sought to identify the genes influencing variation in dietary macronutrient intakes in Mexican Americans.

Design: We conducted a genome-wide scan by using data derived from food-frequency questionnaires in 816 participants from the San Antonio Family Heart Study.

Adiponectin but not resistin is associated with insulin resistance-related phenotypes in baboons.

Objective: The hormones adiponectin and resistin have been associated with insulin resistance. This paper analyzed the potential relationship between adiponectin and resistin and insulin resistance-related phenotypes in baboons.

Research Methods And Procedures: One hundred eight adult baboons (84 female and 24 male) were studied.

Genome-wide scans reveal quantitative trait Loci on 8p and 13q related to insulin action and glucose metabolism: the San Antonio Family Heart Study.

Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease that arises from physiological disruptions of the body's sensitivity to insulin and ability to metabolize glucose. Multipoint linkage analyses for insulin sensitivity phenotypes were conducted in 1,280 Mexican Americans from 41 families who participated in the San Antonio Family Heart Study. A significant linkage signal (logarithm of odds [LOD] = 2.