Association of the G>A (rs6265) polymorphism in the brain derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNF) with post-training changes in Caucasian women

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) rs6265 (G196A; Val66Met) polymorphism has been associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes, with contradictory results involving either A or G as the risk allele. The main aim of this study was to examine whether the BDNF rs6265 polymorphism would influence the efficiency of a training program. An additional aim was to determine whether selected polymorphism can be used as a genetic marker for obesity-related parameters. We studied the genotype distribution in a group of 160 Caucasian females in whom body mass and composition parameters, lipid profile, and glucose levels were measured before and after the 12-week aerobic training program. The majority of obesity-related parameters significantly changed during the intervention (main effect of training); however, the training response was not modulated by genotype (non-significant genotype × training interactions). We also did not find an effect of genotype on selected parameters. Our study showed that the rs6265 polymorphism does not affect the efficiency of the applied training program and is not a good genetic marker for assessing the obesity-related parameters in the studied population. However, we confirmed that regular physical activity is associated with an improvement in obesity-related parameters, which is an important observation for public health.