HYDERABAD: Researchers at AIG Hospitals have found that inherited genetic susceptibility interacts with lifestyle factors to influence obesity risk among individuals of Indian ancestry.

The study, published in the Scientific Reports journal, was led by researchers at AIG Hospitals in collaboration with the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg (Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg), and the Centre for Human Genetics, University of Marburg (Marburg, Germany).

The analysis utilised data from Indian-ancestry participants in the UK Biobank alongside an India-recruited cohort developed and genomically profiled at AIG Hospitals.

The AIG-led analysis demonstrated a graded pattern of obesity risk across combinations of genetic susceptibility and lifestyle profiles. The statistical interaction between polygenic risk and lifestyle was significant in the larger cohort and showed consistent directional trends in the Indian cohort. Age-stratified analysis further suggested that lifestyle influences may be particularly relevant among younger individuals with higher inherited susceptibility.

Speaking about the need for the study, Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman of AIG Hospitals, said, “Obesity is increasingly recognised as a polygenic condition, influenced by thousands of genetic variants rather than a single gene mutation. However, genomic interaction data in Indian populations remain limited. Indians are widely documented to exhibit higher metabolic sensitivity to adiposity.”