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Background and Objectives: This study investigated the association of DRD2 Taq1A, Taq1B and Taq1D gene polymorphisms with eating behavior, the preference/intake frequency/craving of high-fat foods and obesity in 394 Malaysian adults (161 males, 233 females; 308 Chinese, 86 Indians; 67 obese, 327 non-obese)., Methods and Study Design: Eating behaviors namely Cognitive Restraint, Uncontrolled Eating and Emotional Eating scores were assessed by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18. The preference/intake frequency/craving of 26 common high-fat Malaysian foods was assessed using a 7-point hedonic scale. Anthropometric measurements were taken and Taq1 gene polymorphisms were genotyped by PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism using DNA extracted from mouthwash samples., Results: The overall minor allele frequencies of Taq1A, Taq1B and Taq1D according to ethnicities (Chinese/Indian) were 0.37/0.29, 0.39/0.28, 0.06/0.30, respectively; genotype and allele distributions of Taq1B and Taq1D were significantly different between ethnicities. Eating behaviorscores were not significantly different between gender and ethnicities. Those with A1 or B1 allele had lower Cognitive Restraint score and higher Uncontrolled Eating score, while those with A1/A1 or B1/B1 genotype had higher fast food preference. D1 allele was associated with increased starchy food craving and mamak (Malaysian Indian-Muslim) food preference, but not eating behavior scores. All three gene variants were not associated with obesity and adiposity., Conclusion: Taken together, we posit that three DRD2 Taq1 gene polymorphisms influence the eating behavior and preference/intake frequency/craving of certain high-fat foods in Malaysian adults, but their role in obesity and adiposity is still inconclusive and needs further investigation.

Objective: Our study investigated the association of UCP1 -3826A/G and UCP3 -55C/T single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with obesity and its related traits among multi-ethnic Malaysians., Participants: A total of 447 (225 males; 46 Malays, 339 ethnic Chinese, 62 ethnic Indians; 111 obese) participated., Methods: Demographic and anthropometric data were collected, and genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism., Results: The minor allele frequencies (MAFs) for UCP1 according to Malay/Chinese/Indian ethnicities were .61/.55/.52 and .32/.55/.38, respectively. UCP3 genotype and allele distribution was significantly associated with ethnicity and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), but among non-obese and Chinese participants only, respectively, after stratified analysis. Chinese participants with T allele had significantly lesser risk to be centrally obese [odds ratio =.69 (CI =.48, 1.00; P=.04)], and also had significantly lower WHR compared to those with C allele. The UCP1 or UCP3 SNPs were not associated with obesity/BMI and total body fat (TBF), but combinatory genotype analysis revealed that those having the AA and CC genotype for the former and latter SNPs had significantly highest BMI and TBF compared to other genotype combinations., Conclusions: UCP3 -55C/T SNP was associated with central obesity among Malaysian participants of Chinese descent. Combinatory genotype analysis showed that BMI and TBF were significantly different among UCPI -3826A/G and UCP3 -55C/T genotype combinations, suggesting the existence of a gene interaction between UCP1 and UCP3 in influencing obesity and adiposity.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) genes PPARα L162V, PPARγ2 C161T and PPARδ T294C single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with obesity and metabolic syndrome (Met-S) in a multi-ethnic population in Kampar, Malaysia., Methods: Socio-demographic data, anthropometric and biochemical measurements (plasma lipid profile, adiponectin and interleukin-6 [IL-6] levels) were taken from 307 participants (124 males; 180 obese; 249 Met-S; 97 Malays, 85 ethnic Chinese, 55 ethnic Indians)., Results: The overall minor allele frequencies were .08, .22 and .30 for PPAR α L162V, γ C161T, δ T294C, respectively. All SNPs were not associated with obesity, Met-S and obesity with/without Met-S by χ(2) analysis, ethnicity-stratified and logistic regression analyses. Nevertheless, participants with V162 allele of PPARα had significantly higher IL-6, while those with T161 allele of PPARγ2 had significantly lower HOMA-IR., Conclusions: All PPAR SNPs were not associated with obesity and Met-S in the suburban population of Kampar, Malaysia, where only PPARα V162 and PPARγ2 T161 alleles were associated with plasma IL-6 and HOMA-IR, respectively.