6-n-Propylthiouracil sensitivity and obesity status among ethnically diverse children.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) sensitivity to BMI while statistically controlling for demographic characteristics in two age groups of children: 9-10 years and 17-18 years (n 1551). DESIGN: Cross-sectional design with a multi-ethnic (White, African-American, Hispanic, Other) sample of 813 children aged 9-10 years and 738 children aged 17-18 years. Children were recruited from local elementary and high schools with at least 30 % minority ethnic enrolment. Children's height, weight and waist circumference were measured along with their PROP taster status. PROP was measured using two paper discs, one impregnated with NaCl (1.0 mol/l) and the other with PROP solution (0.50 mmol/l). RESULTS: A significant PROP sensitivity by socio-economic status (SES) interaction term (P = 0.010) was detected wherein supertasters had the largest BMI percentile and Z-score, but only among the group with highest SES. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that other factors overwhelmed the influence of PROP sensitivity on adiposity in lower-SES groups. The percentage of variance accounted for by the interaction term was about 1 %. Thus, PROP supertasters had the largest BMI percentile and Z-score, but only among the highest-SES group.

Gene-nutrition interaction in human performance and exercise response.

Recent advances in human performance research have revealed new insight into the many factors that influence how an individual responds to exercise training. Response to exercise interventions is often highly variable among individuals, however, and exercise response may be mediated in large part by variation in genes and nutrition and by gene-environment interactions. It is well established that the quality and quantity of nutritional intake play a critical role in response to training and in athletic performance. The body's adaptation to exercise is also the result of changes in expression of genes mediated not only by exercise but by multiple factors, including the interaction between exercise, components of dietary intake, and genetic variation. This review explores the effects of genetic variation and gene-nutrition interactions in response to exercise training and athletic performance.