With over 40% of American adults considered obese, and that statistic alone accounting for almost $180 billion of medical expenditure per year according to the CDC, it’s clear that weight is a widespread issue.

Not only does excess body fat increase an individual’s risk of heart problems, strokes, Type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, it can also affect a person’s wellbeing and quality of life.

And in a society in which life is lived fast, healthy food is getting ever more expensive, and gym memberships are through the roof, it’s easy to understand how so many people end up consistently reaching for tasty food loaded with refined sugars and saturated fats, then struggle to work off the excess calories they consume.

But it’s not just down to what a person eats; in fact, genetics have a significant role to play in an individual’s obesity risk too, with a new study from researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark providing more information about this risk than ever before.

In the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers explain how simple genetic testing can help an individual to understand their genetic risk of obesity.

And even more impressive, this information can be obtained even in early childhood, before a child begins to put on weight.

Using data which included a collaboration with global genetics researchers 23andMe, the research team developed a groundbreaking genetic test which can identify the various genetic markers for obesity risk that occur within the human genome.

Known as a polygenic risk score (PGS), this simple genetic test can identify children and young people who are at greater risk of obesity thanks to their genetics, providing parents with the opportunity for early intervention, to safeguard their child’s future health, as the University of Copenhagen’s Assistant Professor Roelof Smit explained in a statement:

“What makes the score so powerful is its ability to predict, before the age of five, whether a child is likely to develop obesity in adulthood, well before other risk factors start to shape their weight later in childhood. Intervening at this point can have a huge impact.”

There are some caveats to this, however, in that the test was more accurate in predicting obesity in people from some parts of the world than others. After testing over 500,000 people’s genetic data, the researchers found that in particular, those with European ancestry saw much more accurate predictions than those with African ancestry.

However, the possibility of early intervention – delivered sensitively, so as not to promote unhealthy or disordered eating habits – could be the first step toward much healthier future generations, since awareness and proactivity early in life make a healthy diet and lifestyle in childhood normalise these behaviors.

For those who find themselves looking to lose weight later in life, despite these genetic markers, there is still plenty of hope though; in fact, the researchers discovered that these individuals saw great improvements in their weight after food and exercise regimens were in place, albeit they were also more likely to regain weight if they returned to their previous habits.

Though the PGS is by no means a cure to lifelong obesity, it is a step in the right direction. After all, forewarned is forearmed, and it’s easier to maintain a healthy weight than to lose excess weight after it’s gained.

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