SynthesisPLoS medicine2011
Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: a meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children.
Synthesis in PLoS medicine, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 281 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
281 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 558 citations in OpenAlex.
- Discovery of obesity genes through cross-ancestry analysis.Nature communications · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Effect of Gene-Lifestyle Interactions on Metabolic-Disease-Related Traits in South Asian Populations.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Gene-Lifestyle Interactions on Metabolic Disease-Related Outcomes in Arab Populations.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Association of rs9939609 in FTO with BMI among Polynesian peoples living in Aotearoa New Zealand and other Pacific nations.Journal of human genetics · 2023Pooled it
- The Genetic Basis of Childhood Obesity: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- FTO gene polymorphisms and obesity risk in Chinese population: a meta-analysis.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2019Pooled it
- Quality of dietary fat and genetic risk of type 2 diabetes: individual participant data meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2019Pooled it
- Genome-Wide Interactions with Dairy Intake for Body Mass Index in Adults of European Descent.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2018Pooled it
- Ranking and characterization of established BMI and lipid associated loci as candidates for gene-environment interactions.PLoS genetics · 2017Pooled it
- Genome-wide physical activity interactions in adiposity - A meta-analysis of 200,452 adults.PLoS genetics · 2017Pooled it
- FTO genotype and weight loss: systematic review and meta-analysis of 9563 individual participant data from eight randomised controlled trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2016Pooled it
- FTO genotype and weight loss in diet and lifestyle interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2016Pooled it
- Identification of genetic loci affecting body mass index through interaction with multiple environmental factors using structured linear mixed model.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Changes in Physical Activity Following a Genetic-Based Internet-Delivered Personalized Intervention: Randomized Controlled Trial (Food4Me).Journal of medical Internet research · 2016Trial
- High genetic risk individuals benefit less from resistance exercise intervention.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2015Trial
- Gene × dietary pattern interactions in obesity: analysis of up to 68 317 adults of European ancestry.Human molecular genetics · 2015Trial
- Revealing genetic foundations underlying cardiometabolic traits: integrating twin and GWAS data in Asian populations.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- Association of genetic risk and physical activity with incident type 2 diabetes.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- Associations Between FTO rs9939609 Genotype, Physical Activity, and Dietary Behaviors in Young Adults.Nutrients · 2026Article
221 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
116 authors at 20 institutions in 17 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n = 218,166) and nine studies of children and adolescents (n = 19,268). METHODS AND
findingsAll studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r(2)>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A-) allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (p(interaction) = 0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36). No such interaction was found in children and adolescents.
conclusionsThe association of the FTO risk allele with the odds of obesity is attenuated by 27% in physically active adults, highlighting the importance of PA in particular in those genetically predisposed to obesity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.