Obesity is considered as an important public health problem in the world. Although the association of a common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs1801282 (Pro12Ala), in the
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) gene with
obesity has been reported in various populations, these data are not conclusive. This study aimed to reassess whether the PPARG rs1801282 SNP is linked with
obesity and
obesity-related metabolic traits in a Taiwanese population. A total of 674 Taiwanese subjects with general health examinations were genotyped. The rs1801282 genotype was determined by the Taqman SNP genotyping assay.
Obesity-related metabolic traits such as
triglyceride, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total
cholesterol, and fasting
glucose were measured. The PPARG rs1801282 SNP did not exhibit any significant association with
obesity among the complete sample population. However, sex-stratified analyses revealed an effect on
overweight in female participants where the carriers of the combined CG and GG genotypes had a higher risk to
overweight than those with the CC homozygotes (OR=4.05; 95% CI=1.28-12.83; P=0.017). Compared to the carriers of CC homozygotes, BMI was significantly higher for the carriers of the combined CG and GG genotypes in the female subjects (24.4±3.7 vs. 23.5±3.8 kg/m2; P=0.033). In addition, the carriers of the CC homozygotes had a higher total
cholesterol level than those with the combined CG and GG genotypes in the female subjects (197.0±37.3 vs. 180.7±33.7 mg/dl; P=0.026). Our study indicates that PPARG rs1801282 may significantly predict
overweight, BMI, and total
cholesterol in female but not male Taiwanese subjects.