Introduction: Obesity is progressively important health problem worldwide as well as in developing countries like India. Recent genetic studies have suggested that obesity associated FTO genetic variants are associated to obesity risk. Aim: To evaluate the association of FTO genetic variants towards obesity risk. Subjects and Methods: North Indian individuals categorized as non-obese (BMI<25 kg/m2 ) and obese (BMI30 kg/m2 ) were selected. FTO rs1421085, rs9939609 were genotyped by validated Taqman allelic discrimination. Their association with obesity was evaluated by means of single locus logistic regression by SPSS ver. 19. Results: In single locus analysis, significant association with obesity risk was revealed by FTO rs9939609 [CA (P=0.0001, OR=2.6(1.7-3.9); AA (P=0.0001, OR=3.0(1.7-5.3)], rs1421085 [TA (P=0.0001, OR=2.6(1.7- 3.9); AA (P=0.0001, OR=2.8(1.6-5.2)]. Conclusion: This study to reveals that genetic variants of FTO are associated with obesity risk in North Indians.

Keywords: BMI; FTO; Obesity.