Interaction of Vitamin B12 and Ancestral Genetic Background with Adiposity in Children Wilnerys Colberg Hernández Mentors: José R. Fernández PhD & David Allison PhD Good afternoon, my name is Wilnerys Colberg Hernandez Ive been working on a research project titled interaction of vitamin b12 and ancestral genetic background with adiposity in children This research was performed with the help of my mentors: Dr. Jose Fernandez & Dr. David Allison

Obesity What is obesity? Why is this a concern? Excess body fat accumulated to the magnitude that it may have an adverse effect on health. Obesity is determined differently in adults and children. BMI = weight(kg) / height²(m²) BMI ≥30 BMI percentile ≥95𝑡ℎ Why is this a concern? Increasing prevalence Obesity is associated with numerous health problems Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, etc. Shortening individuals’ lives 70% obese children become obese adults Lets start by defining obesity. Obesity is the excess of fat accumulated in the body to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health. Why is this a concern? The prevalence of obesity is increasing over time, this is alarming since obesity is proven to be associated with many comorbidies such as: Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, even some cancer. This condition shortens an individuals life spam. In this study children is our main focus since 70% obese children become obese adults (Zhao, J. et.al, 2011)

Obesity prevalence in children This graph represents how the prevalence of obesity In children in both group ages and how it has increased over time. We observe an increase in both age ranges

Etiology of obesity Say hi to Gordy! It is important to identify the factors that makeup the etiology of obesity. To understand about how some factors affect an individual I would like to present to you my friend Luis. Luis was a healthy child, but his has a family history of obesity. Luis should be careful Since he may also become to have diabetes. As time has gone by the influence behavior factors such physical inactivity and also environmental factors like the high calorie foods, together over time eventually became a mildly obese child. But Luis got lazy and lazier inhibiting as much movements possible becoming a moderately obese child. By this time exercise is uncomfortable and painful, and kids make fun of his body composition, by that time he became a severely obese child, and today he is a obese adult with diabetes high blood pressure with high medical bills!!! http://theblueprintforlife.com/forum/topics/the-vicious-cycle-of-childhood-obesity

The contribution of environmental and behavioral might sound simple… Obesity is a complex disease Individuals respond differently What do we know of the etiology of obesity? Through the years there has been controversy Behavioral Nature VS Nurture Obesity is not simple, its a complex disease where every individual responds differently to the environment. Before scientist have been researching if obesity was related to either nature or nurture But now we understand that obesity is the interplay of behavioral, environmental and genetic factor. Environmental Obesity Genetic (Kimm, S. et. al, 2003)

Complex enough? The etiology is still not completely understood but, Scientific research are beginning to explore these factors Efforts focusing these factors and its affect on adiposity I took interest understanding how these factors interact to influence adiposity Taking into account that obesity is more as an interaction of these aforementioned factors: The etiology is still not clear though, scientists are beginning to explore these interactions focusing in gene & environment effects on adiposity Behavioral Obesity Genetic Environmental (McAllister, E. et.al, 2009)

Lets start by… Scientists have made great advances identifying several genes that might be implicated and have found association between race/ethnicity   Discusing about the factors that may influence obesity we will start talking abt the genetic influence. Among all boys, and among all girls…… Obesity Genetic

Genetic variation How do we capture individuals consumption of food? Ancestral Genetic Background (ADM): ADM describes the genomic variation between populations. Examination of DNA variations based on genetic markers European, African, Amerindian Genetic Background affects how our bodies capture, store, and release energy from food. How do we capture individuals consumption of food? We have seen the differences in obesity among different race/ethnicities, and as we have mentioned previously in the presentation, genetics may play a significant role in obesity. In order to capture the genetic component that may underlie race/ethnicity, we chose to look at the ancestral genetic background Since we have introduced the genetic influence now lets go into the environmental factor, Obesity Genetic (Darvasi, A. et.al, 2005)

Nutritional Components Today there is an emerging trend to understand how nutrients affect body composition. Personalized nutrition advice Which nutrient(s) should we target? Behavioral Obesity Environmental (Abete, I. et.al, 2011)

Nutrient -> Vitamins -> B12

Vitamin B12 B12 is touted as an energy enhancer, metabolism booster & fat burner Is this true? Relationship between vitamin B12 and excess body fat is unclear. Found in animal based foods and fortified food. Essential for growth, development, producing blood cells, nervous system function. Regulation of protein and enzymes in metabolism. Behavioral Obesity Environmental (Baltaci, D. et.al, 2012)

Objective To evaluate if the interaction of dietary Vitamin B12 consumption and ADM influences levels of body fat among children from a multi-ethnic sample. Behavioral Obesity Genetic Environmental

Methodology Subjects from a cross-sectional cohort study : Sample of 319 children. Males and females of age 7 to 12 years. Children were recruited from Birmingham, Alabama. Pubertal stage ≤3; assessed by pediatrician according to the criteria of Marshall and Tanner. Not taking medication known to affect body composition. Measurements were performed between 2004-2008 at Nutrition Obesity research Center & the Department of Nutrition Sciences at UAB. Anthropometric measures: Pubertal status (breast, genitalia, and pubic hair development) Height (cm) - (stadiometer) Weight (kg) - (scale-tronix 6702W)

Methods… Body composition Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) Dietary Measures: Two 24-hour diet recalls administered by a registered dietitian using triple-pass method Total calories B12 dietary intake (𝜇𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦) Other B vitamins Ethnicity: Reported by parents or guardian Genetic Measures: Genetic Admixture assessed by ancestry informative markers Amerindian, African, and European

Statistical Analyses Analyses were performed using SAS software version 9.3 Multiple regression model  To estimate the relationships among variables in interest Model #1 Log Total Fat Covariates B12 Intake African Admixture B12 * Afr. Adm. Covariates: Total Calories, Height, Age, Sex, Tanner

Multiple Regression Models Resting Energy Expenditure Covariates B12 Intake African Admixture B12 * Afr. Adm. Covariates: Total Calories, Weight, Age, Sex, Tanner Model #3 BMI Covariates B12 African Admixture B12 * Afr. Adm. Covariates: Total Calories, Age, Sex, Tanner

Multiple Regression Models Total Lean Covariates B12 African Admixture B12 * Afr. Adm. Covariates: Total Calories, Age, Sex, Tanner Model #5 Log Total Fat Covariates **Other B -vitamins African Admixture B vitamins * Afr. Adm. Covariates: Total Calories, Height, Age, Sex, Tanner **B-vitamins: Thiamin, Niacin, B6, Riboflavin, Folate & pantothenic acid

% variability explained Results: model #1 Table 1. Baseline Descriptive Statistics Table 2. Parameter Estimates for Interaction and Simple Effect Terms Variable Mean ± 𝑺𝑫 ∗ 𝒐𝒓 (%) ∗∗ Total Calorie 1892.22 ± 469.71 Total Fat 8864.19 ± 5686.29 Height (cm) 139.45 ± 10.64 Weight (kg) 36.55 ± 9.53 Age 9.55 ± 1.57 Pubertal Stage 1.50 ± 0.74 Vitamin B12 4.51 ± 2.72 Male 53.11% European American 37.89% African American 33.23% Hispanic American 26.40% Mixed Race/Ethnicity 2.48% Variables Parameter estimate P-value African Admixture -0.053 0.7184 B12 0.064 0.0008 B12 & Afr. Adm. -0.082 0.0036 P-value for model <.0001 Table 3. Percent of Variability Explained Model R-squared % variability explained Covariates + Afr. Adm. 0.3131 ____ Covariates + Afr. Adm. + B12 0.3199 .68% Covariates + Afr. Adm. + B12 + Interaction 0.3403 2.72% * Standard Deviation **Percentage of total sample (n=319)

Results: model #1 Fig 1. 3D representation of the interaction of B12 with African Admixture on Body Fat African ADM

Results: model #1 Fig 2. 2D representation of the interaction of B12 with African Admixture on Log Body Fat Afr. ADM

Independent Variables Results: Model Dependent Variables Independent Variables Parameter Estimate P-Value 2 Resting Energy Afr. ADM. -90.49 0.0808 B12 -9.94 0.1412 interaction 12.72 0.1987 3 BMI 0.29 0.7312 0.25 0.0238 -0.31 0.0591 4 Lean Mass 293.87 .07578 -50.17 0.6851 176.12 0.3333 Results: model #5 None of the other B-vitamins had any significant associations

Discussion/Conclusion This study demonstrates that the differences in body fat observed in children may be explained in part by the interaction of dietary micronutrients with individuals’ ADM. Fig. 2 2D representation of the interaction of B12 intake & Afr. Adm with Log body fat

Discussion/Conclusion Also, the mechanism by which the interaction of B12 and Afr. Adm. does not seem to be related to resting energy expenditure since no significant association was found in the regression model. Further study is needed to understand how individuals’ ancestral background and nutrient consumption may contribute to adiposity levels. This study may help our understanding of the etiology of obesity, hopefully for the development of nutritional intervention strategies.

Acknowledgments NSF (EPSCoR : 1158862) SSG University of Alabama at Birmingham Universidad Metropolitana Dr. José Fernández Dr. Hemant Tiwari Michelle Brown Bohan PhD Kenneth P. Kell M.Eng Keith E. Pearson

Any questions???