Assessment of health risks caused by overweight in children depending on the FTO gene rs9939609 polymorphism

In this study, we aimed to estimate the association between the rs9939609 FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) polymorphism and a risk of overweight in children living in the Baikal region. We performed a case – control study that included 113 schoolchildren living in industrial centers of the Baikal region (Irkutsk, Angarsk, and Ulan-Ude). Anthropometric parameters were measured and body mass index was calculated with its values being ranked in accordance with the WHO BMI curves depending on a sex and age. Genotyping of the rs9939609 FTO polymorphism was performed by allele-specific amplification with real-time results detection. To assess likelihood of an association between the FTO gene allele and overweight and obesity, relative risk (RR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) were calculated. The assessment revealed the A allele of the rs9939609 FTO polymorphism to be by 1.29 times more frequent in the examined children with overweight and obesity (48.44 %) than in the children form the reference group (37.65 %). The FTO rs9939609 polymorphism was authentically associated with likelihood of elevated risks of overweight and obesity in children with the homozygous AA genotype (RR = 2.806, 95 % CI: 1.650–4.772; STD = 0.271). Our study confirms that the rs9939609 polymorphism of the FTO gene is a risk factor of overweight and obesity for children from the Baikal region who have the A allele of the homozygous AA genotype. Prevailing frequency of the TT genotype (29.2 %) as compared with the AA genotype (10.62) is likely due to influence of assimilation processes on urbanized territories in the Baikal region.