Toward precision nutrition: A cross‐sectional study on the genetic risks of nutrients deficiencies and eating behaviors among the Orang Asli and Malays

Abstract

This cross‐sectional study aimed to profile 15 genetic markers associated with the risks of nutrient deficiencies and eating disinhibition behaviors that could lead to obesity among the Orang Asli (OA) and the Malays. The whole‐genome sequences of 98 OA and 96 Malay individuals were mined for these 15 genetic variants. The distributions of risk allele frequencies were then compared with other world populations to determine the impact of these genetic variations on the wellness of the two cohorts. The risk alleles include rs2025804 G, rs1800497 T, rs4680 G, rs602662 G, rs174547 C, and rs4654748 C, were commonly found among the OA and Malays and are likely to be pathogenic genetics variants for obesity. The risk allele frequencies differed significantly between the studied and the other five populations (p < .05). We believe that this is the first reported study on the genetic variants associated with nutrient deficiencies and eating disinhibition behaviors that are likely to increase risks of obesity among the OA and Malays.