Healthy lifestyle practice correlates with decreased obesity prevalence in individuals with high polygenic risk: TMM CommCohort study

Obesity and overweight, fundamental components of the metabolic syndrome, predispose individuals to lifestyle-related diseases. The extent to which adopting healthy lifestyles can reduce obesity risk, even in those with a high genetic risk, remains uncertain. Our aim was to assess the extent to which lifestyle modifications can improve outcomes in individuals with a high polygenic score (PGS) for obesity. We quantified the genetic risk of obesity using PGSs. Four datasets from the Tohoku Medical Megabank Community-Based Cohort (TMM CommCohort) were employed in the study. One dataset (n = 9958) was used to select the best model for calculating PGS. The remaining datasets (total n = 69,341) were used in a meta-analysis to validate the model and to evaluate associated risks. The odds ratio (OR) for obesity risk in the intermediate (11th–90th percentiles in the dataset) and high PGS categories (91st–100th) was 2.27 [95% confidence intervals: 2.12–2.44] and 4.83 [4.45–5.25], respectively, compared to that in the low PGS category (1st–10th). Trend analysis showed that an increase in leisure-time physical activity was significantly associated with reduced obesity risk across all genetic risk categories, representing an OR of 0.9 [0.87–0.94] even among individuals in the high PGS category. Similarly, sodium intake displayed a positive association with obesity across all genetic risk categories, yielding an OR of 1.24 [1.17–1.31] in the high PGS category. The risk of obesity was linked to the adoption of healthy lifestyles, even in individuals with high PGS. Our results may provide perspectives for integrating PGSs into preventive medicine.