Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bouchard, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Bouchard, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction, Vol. 12, No. suppl_1, pp. 1-5, 1997
© 1997 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Genetic determinants of regional fat distribution

Claude Bouchard

Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory, Laval University Ste-Foy, Québec, G1K 7P4, Canada

Upper body fat and abdominal visceral fat are two obesity-related phenotypes of interest because of their relationships with a variety of metabolic complications. The heritability of the amount of upper body fat or the level of upper body fat relative to lower body fat ranges from ~30–50% of the phenotype's age, sex and total body fat adjusted variance. On the other hand, familial studies of abdominal visceral fat reveal that the familial transmission reaches >50% of the age, sex and total body fat adjusted variance. Complex segregation analysis undertaken with a panel of nuclear families indicates that major genes may account for a significant fraction of the variance in upper body fat and abdominal visceral fat. Two intervention studies conducted with pairs of male identical twins have shown that changes in upper body fat and visceral fat are more similar within pairs than between pairs, either in phenotype increments when challenged by chronic overfeeding, or in adipose tissue losses after exposure to long-term negative energy balance conditions. The evidence accumulated to date is sufficient to justify undertaking a search for the specific genes and molecular markers involved in the heterogeneity commonly observed in human fat topography.

Key words: fat distribution/gene environment interaction/genetics/upper body fat/visceral fat


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.