Breast-feeding modulates the influence of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARG2) Pro12Ala polymorphism on adiposity in adolescents: The Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) cross-sectional study.
OBJECTIVE
The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma2 (PPARG2) Pro12Ala polymorphism has been associated with a higher BMI and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in adulthood. The association between adiposity and PPARG variants can be influenced by environmental factors such as early growth, dietary fat, and (as recently shown) breast-feeding. The objectives of this study were to assess 1) the influence of the PPARG2 Pro12Ala polymorphism on adiposity markers in adolescents and 2) a possible modulating effect of breast-feeding on these associations.


METHODS
Data on breast-feeding duration, BMI, and genotypes for the Pro12Ala polymorphism were available for 945 adolescents (mean age 14.7 years). The breast-feeding duration was obtained from parental records. We measured weight, height, waist circumference, and six skinfold thicknesses.


RESULTS
No significant associations between the Pro12Ala polymorphism and any of the above-mentioned anthropometric parameters were found. There were significant interactions between the PPARG2 Pro12Ala polymorphism and breast-feeding with regard to adiposity measurements (all adjusted P < 0.05). Indeed, in children who had not been breast-fed, Ala12 allele carriers had higher adiposity parameters (e.g., Delta BMI +1.88 kg/m(2), adjusted for age, sex, and center, P = 0.007) than Pro12Pro adolescents. In contrast, in breast-fed subjects, there was no significant difference between Ala12 allele carriers and Pro12Pro children in terms of adiposity measurements, whatever the duration of breast-feeding.


CONCLUSIONS
Breast-feeding appears to counter the deleterious effect of the PPARG2 Pro12Ala polymorphism on anthropometric parameters in adolescents.
INSERM, U995, Institut Fédératif de Recherche 114, Faculté de Médecine, Université Droit et Santé de Lille, Lille, France.
Caroline
C
Verier
Aline
A
Meirhaeghe
Szilvia
S
Bokor
Christina
C
Breidenassel
Yannis
Y
Manios
Dénes
D
Molnár
Enrique G
EG
Artero
Esther
E
Nova
Stefaan
S
De Henauw
Luis A
LA
Moreno
Philippe
P
Amouyel
Idoia
I
Labayen
Noemi
N
Bevilacqua
Dominique
D
Turck
Laurent
L
Béghin
Jean
J
Dallongeville
Frédéric
F
Gottrand
D050154:Adiposity / Q000235:genetics*; D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height / Q000235:genetics; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000235:genetics; D001942:Breast Feeding; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000235:genetics
D047495:PPAR gamma