Study: Biomarkers In Urine Could Predict Obesity

Chemical markers that could help researchers predict obesity in patients and provide different insights on how obesity manifests into various diseases were detected in urine samples, according to a recent study.

“Obesity has become a huge problem all over the world, threatening to overwhelm health services and drive life expectancy gains into reverse. Tackling it is an urgent priority and it requires us to have a much better understanding of how body fat and other aspects of biology are related,” said Jeremy Nicholson, PhD, a senior author of the study and director of the MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre.^{1
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“These findings provide possible starting points for new approaches to preventing and treating obesity and its associated diseases,” he said.¹

For the study, researchers analyzed adiposity and collected urine samples from 1880 US patient and 444 UK participants in the International Study of Marco- and Micronutrients and Blood Pressure cohort.²

Urine samples were collected 3 weeks apart over 2 24-hour time periods for metabolic profiling.

In the US patients, the study showed 29 various metabolic products whose levels were associated with the patients’ body mass index.^1,2  

For the UK cohort, researchers identified 25 of the same biomarkers. Some of the metabolites were created by gut bacteria, which researchers believe suggests the pivotal role that the bacteria play in obesity.¹

“Our results point to patterns of metabolic markers in the urine associated with obesity,” they concluded.

“It may be possible to identify non-obese people who have such patterns in their urine profile. These people could be at risk of developing obesity and metabolic diseases, and might benefit from personalised preventative interventions.”

-Michelle Canales Butcher

References:

1. Imperial College London. Urine profiles provide clues to how obesity causes disease. April 29, 2015. www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_29-4-2015-17-23-30. Accessed May 4, 2015.

2. Elliot P, Posma JM, Chan Q, et al. Urinary metaboli signatures of human adiposity. Sci Transl Med. 2015 April [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa5680.