PhD defence: Determinants of Obesity and Weight Loss

Genetic Variants, Circulating miRNAs, and Dietary Fibres

Anne Lundby Hess

PhD thesis

The prevalence of obesity across the world has increased dramatically in recent years, thus increasing the prevalence of obesity-associated diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Obesity is considered a complex and multifactorial condition, affected by interactions between environmental and genetic factors.

The overall objective of this thesis was to investigate how genetic variants, circulating microRNAs, and dietary fibres affects obesity and weight loss. More specific, the role and potential genetic regulation of angiopoietin-like protein 3 was investigated in relation to body weight, lipid metabolism and liver health before and during a low-calorie diet in the DiOGenes study.

Furthermore, it was investigated whether a diet supplemented with dietary fibres would induce greater body weight loss compared to placebo during energy restriction in an overweight/obese population in the My New Gut II study and whether the fibre-containing dietary supplements would affect the gut microbiome, lipid profile, and glucose metabolism.

Finally, selected circulating miRNAs was analysed in response to weight loss and the potential of these circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of the metabolic syndrome was investigated.

2019, 164 pages.

Time

2 July 2019, 13:00

Place

Festauditoriet (aud. A1-01.01),
Bülowsvej 17, 1870 Frederiksberg C

Opponents 

Professor Inge Tetens (chair), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Professor Ellen Blaak, Department of Human Biology NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Senior researcher Agné Kulyté, Department of Medicine, Unit for Endocrinology and Diabetes, Karolinska Instituttet, Huddinge, Sweden.

Supervisor

Associate professor Thomas Meinert Larsen, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Co-supervisor

Louise Torp Dalgaard, Roskilde University Center, Denmark.

The thesis is available for inspection at the library, Nørre Allé 51, DK-2200 Copenhagen N.