Deprivation: a decisive factor in obesity

A joint study involving Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) shows that people with a genetic predisposition to obesity are more likely to develop the condition if they find themselves in a situation of deprivation. The city of Lausanne was used as a test site by the researchers. People with a predisposition to obesity will be more likely to develop the condition if they are faced with disadvantageous socioeconomic conditions. In Lausanne, the probability of being overweight is therefore higher in the west than the east of the city, because levels of deprivation are higher in the west. Nutrition, lifestyle and the environment interact with an individual's genes and are likely to influence their body mass index (BMI). The level of deprivation is therefore a decisive factor. These are the conclusions of the study published jointly by the University of Exeter Medical School, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the International Journal of Epidemiology.