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Association of lifestyle and genetic susceptibility factors with body composition and fat distribution among women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2026

Huan Liu ,
Chenhui Zhang ,
Shanshan Zhang ,
Qian Shen ,
Siyue Wang ,
Pengcheng Liu ,
Cong Zhang ,
Qing Wang ,
Xiangli Chen  and
Ying Qu
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Huan Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Chenhui Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Shanshan Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Qian Shen
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Siyue Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Pengcheng Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Cong Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Qing Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Xiangli Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Ying Qu
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Rongcheng Huang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Jiang Chang
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China
Li Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, People’s Republic of China
Xiaohua Chen*
Affiliation:
Department of Laboratory Medicine, General Hospital of Central Theater Command, People’s Republic of China
Rong Zhong*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China Organ Transplantation Clinical Medical Research Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China
*
Corresponding authors: Rong Zhong; Email: zhongr@hust.edu.cn; Xiaohua Chen; Email: chenxiaohua@whu.edu.cn
Corresponding authors: Rong Zhong; Email: zhongr@hust.edu.cn; Xiaohua Chen; Email: chenxiaohua@whu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Body composition and fat distribution were found to display differential effects on the incidence and mortality of chronic disease. However, it remained unclear whether there is an interaction between lifestyle factors and genetic susceptibility on body composition and fat distribution. This study investigated the associations of lifestyle and genetic factors with body composition and fat distribution among 121 664 women from the UK Biobank cohort study. Women with a favourable lifestyle had lower BMI (BMI, –7·72 % (95 % CI: −7·93 %, −7·51 %)), fat mass index (FMI, −15·70 % (95 % CI: −16·09 %, −15·30 %)), fat-free mass index (FFMI, −2·86 % (95 % CI: −2·98 %, −2·74 %)), arm fat ratio (AFR, −5·19 %, (95 % CI: −5·38 %, −5·00 %)) and trunk fat ratio (TFR, −0·73 %, (95 % CI: −0·84 %, −0·62 %)) but higher leg fat ratio (LFR, 2·30 % (95 % CI: 2·16 %, 2·44 %)) than those with an unfavourable lifestyle. Significant interactions between lifestyle factors and genetic susceptibility on BMI, FMI and AFR were observed (Pinteraction < 0·05). Among women with a high genetic susceptibility to body composition or fat distribution, those with a healthy lifestyle still had a lower BMI, FMI, FFMI, AFR and TFR and higher LFR (Ptrend < 0·001). Women who adhere to a favourable lifestyle tend to have healthy body composition and fat distribution, and this association is consistent across all strata of genetic risk.

Keywords

Lifestyle factorsBody compositionFat distributionPolygenic risk scoreAssociation study

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , First View , pp. 1 - 8
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

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Footnotes

Huan Liu and Chenhui Zhang contributed equally.

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