Researchers from the University of Navarra, together with scientists from 10 international teams, have discovered that people who possess a genetic profile associated with body weight gain - the well-known FTO gene - respond in the same way to per diem expenses, exercise and weight loss drugs as the rest of the population. This has been published in The British Medical Journal(The BJM), the fourth publication with the highest impact index in the medical field.

The study involved 30 scientists from Australia, United Kingdom, USA, Singapore, Denmark, Finland, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Holland, Sweden and Spain. In our country, the researchers are part of the PREDIMED-Navarra team (Prevention with per diem expenses Mediterranean) and the CIBERobn Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition.

Their work consisted of analyzing the data of almost 10,000 participants belonging to 11 programs of study. "Among them, it was observed that those who possessed the FTO gene - and were therefore genetically predisposed to suffer from obesity - initially had slightly more weight - 0.89 kg - than those who did not possess this gene and who constituted the baseline of the study," explains one of its authors, Amelia Martí, Professor of Physiology at the University of Navarra.

However, he says they found "that both profiles responded equally well to weight loss strategies, indicating that Genetics does not make a difference. In fact, the study confirms that lifestyle factors, which we can modulate, are more important than the genetic profile itself."

More than 2 billion adults are overweight and obese

The obesity specialist of the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition of the University of Navarra recalls that this finding is particularly relevant because this disease "is a serious public health burden, and its prevalence is increasing worldwide, with more than 2 billion adults overweight or obese, one third of the world's population".

In this context, Amelia Martí advocates the urgent development of more effective strategies for the prevention and management of the disease. In this sense, the study sheds light on the doubts that still exist about the weight of Genetics in the development and the resolution of the disease. "As we have been able to verify, after the weight loss intervention there was no difference in body mass index, waist circumference or kilos lost between the participants with propensity Genetics and the rest, nor by ethnic origin, sex, initial body mass index or age," the researcher explains.

The results indicate that the approach to the problem "should focus on improving lifestyle habits, the acquisition of healthy eating patterns, such as the Mediterranean per diem expenses , and physical activity. All of these, taken together, are effective for sustained weight loss regardless of our genes," the expert stresses.

In addition to Amelia Martí, University of Navarra professors Alfredo Martínez, Miguel Ángel Martínez and researcher Cristina Razquin participated in this study.