• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.53-67
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• 2008

Purpose : This study is descriptive correlation research to provide basic materials for developing program which can give practical assistance in preventing and managing obesity through more comprehensive approaches of influential factors on obesity found in existing literatures. Methods : Data were collected from the 4th, 5th and 6th graders at 2 elementary schools in Gwangju Metropolitan City and 4 elementary schools in Jeollanamdo province using questionnaire and students' physical examination results from June 15 to July 27, 2006 and data obtained from 1,866 students were used for analysis. Data collected were analyzed with technical statistics and correlation analysis using SPSS/PC(version 12.0). Results : 1. Obesity level of elementary school students was examined as follows; 33.2% had low weight, 44.3% normal, 10.8% overweight and 11.7% obese. 14.8% of boys and 8.6% of girls, 13.5% of the 4th graders, 12.1% of the 5th graders and 9.2% of the 6th graders, and 13.7% of urban students and 9.6% of rural students were obese. 2. According to general characteristics and obesity of the subjects, there were significant differences by sex(${\chi}^2=29.55$, p= .000), grade(${\chi}^2=12.84$, p= .046), region(${\chi}^2=41.96$, p= .000) and pocket money(${\chi}^2=33.43$, p= .001). 3. As genetic factors, all variables including sibling's obesity r= .128(p= .000), mother's obesity r= .098(p= .000) and father's obesity r= .081(p= .001) had influence on children's obesity. 4. Concerning environmental factors, there was positive correlation between eating habits r=- .052(p= .02) and school record r=- .048(p= .04) and there was negative correlation between internet using time r= .050(p= .03) and conflict with parents r= .048(p= .04). 5. Self-respect as psychological factor had negative correlation as r=- .048(p= .04). Conclusion : Consequently, the influential factors on obesity of elementary school students were as follows. Obesity was higher in boys than in girls, in urban areas than in rural areas, in lower grade than in higher grade, in children with obese siblings, obese father and mother, irregular and wrong eating habits, frequent internet uses, parents in conflict and lower school record and self-respect. Therefore, since it was found that these variables were more exact causes to increase children's obesity, development of various obesity mediation programs considering these variables at home, school and society is urgently required.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.3-19
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• 2003

The use of atypical antipsychotics is limited by occurrence of adverse reactions such as weight gain, despite of their benefits. This article provides a comprehensive review and discussion of the most significant findings regarding obesity-related pathways and integrates these with the known mechanism of atypical antipsychotic action. The focus of this article is primarily on the genetics of obesity related pathways that may be disrupted by atypical antipsychotics. This review also discussed weight gain, hyperglycemia or occurrence of diabetes while being treated with atypical antipsychotics from the point of view of pharmacogenetics. Pharmacogenetic research seeks to uncover genetic factors that will help clinicians identify the best treatment strategies for their patients. It will aid clinically in the prediction of response and side effects, such as antipsychotic-induced weight gain, and minimize the current "trial and error" approach to prescribing in the near future. This article also presents the genetics of both central and peripheral pathways putatively involved in antipsychotic-induced weight gain while providing a comprehensive review of the obesity literature. This article also review obesity related candidate molecules which may be disrupted during atypical antipsychotic drug treatment.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.318-322
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• 2008

Obesity is an increasing worldwide health problem that is strongly related to the imbalance of food intake and energy metabolism. It was well-known that several substances in the hypothalamus regulate food intake and energy metabolism. We planned an integrative study to elucidate the mechanism of the development of obesity. Firstly, to find candidate genes with the marvelous effect, the different expression in the hypothalamus between ob/ob and 48-h fasting mice was investigated by using DNA microarray technology. As a result, we found 3 genes [peroxisome proliferator activated receptor, gamma, coactivator 1 alpha (Ppargc1a), calmodulin 1 (Calm1), and complexin 2 (Cplx2)] showing the different hypothalamic expression between ob/ob and 48-h fasting mice. Secondly, a genetic approach on PPARGC1A gene was performed, because PPARGC1A acts as a transcriptional coactivator and a metabolic regulator. Two hundred forty three obese female patients with body mass index (BMI)${\geq}$25 and 285 control female subjects with BMI 18 to<23 were recruited according to the Classification of Korean Society for the Study of Obesity. Among the coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (cSNPs) of PPARGC1A, 2 missense SNPs (rs8192678, Gly482Ser; rs3736265, Thr612Met) and 1 synonymous SNP (rs3755863, Thr528Thr) were selected, and analyzed by PCR-RFLP and pyrosequencing. For the analysis of genetic data, chi-square ($X^2$) test and EH program were used. The rs8192678 was significantly associated with obese women (P<0.0006; odds ratio, 1.5327; 95% confidence interval, 1.2006-1.9568). Haplotypes also showed significant association with obese women ($X^2$=33.28, P<0.0008). These results suggest that PPARGC1A might be related to the development of obesity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1548-1551
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• 2005

The leptin, an anti-obesity protein, is a hormone protein expressed and secreted mainly from adipocyte tissue, and involved in regulation of body weight, food intake and energy metabolism. In an effort to discover polymorphism(s) in genes whose variant(s) might be implicated in phenotypic traits of growth, we have sequenced exons and their boundaries of leptin gene including 1,000 bp upstream of promoter region with twenty-four unrelated Korean cattle. Fifty-seven sequence variants were identified: fourteen in 5' flanking region, twenty-seven in introns, eight in exons, and eight in 3' flanking region. By pair-wise linkage analysis among polymorphisms, ten sets of SNPs were in absolute linkage disequilibrium (LD) (|D'| = 1 and $r^2$ = 1). Among variants identified, thirty-six SNPs were newly identified, and twenty-one SNPs, which were reported in other breeds, were also confirmed in Korean cattle. The allele frequencies of variants were quite different among breeds. The information from SNPs of bovine leptin gene could be useful for further genetic studies of this gene.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.239-242
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• 2008

Obesity results from a combination of genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors. Uncoupling proteins (UCP) are members of the larger family of mitochondrial anion carrier proteins (MACP). UCP separates oxidative phosphorylation from ATP synthesis with energy dissipated as heat, also referred to as the mitochondrial proton leak. UCP facilitates the transfer of anions from the inner to the outer mitochondrial membrane and the return transfer of protons from the outer to the inner mitochondrial membrane. Therefore, we investigated the genotype for the G>A polymorphism at the position -866 of UCP2 gene in Koreans and compared genotype of patients with control group. 50 patients (Male 22, Female 28), who previously underwent type 2 diabetcs (T2DM) and 30 controls (Male 14, Female 16) participated in this study. There was a weak significant association between -866 G>A polymorphism in UCP2 gene and T2DM. The present study shows that UCP2 -866 G>A polymorphism may not be associated with the pathogenesis of T2DM as opposed to the previous reports in other countries. Further studies with larger population may be needed for the development of diagnostic methods at genetic level such as DNA chip.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.5-7
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• 2003

NADPH is an essential co-factor for fat and cholesterol biosynthesis. However, the role of cytosolic NADP$\^$＋/-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDPc), a putative NADPH producer, in the control of the fat and cholesterol metabolism has not been assessed. Here we report that increased or decreased IDPc expression in 3T3-Ll fat cells promoted or retarded adipogenesis, respectively. Furthermore, overexpression of IDPc in transgenic mice exhibited fatty liver, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and obesity by increasing NADPH production leading to subsequent stimulation of acetyl-coenzyme A and malonyl-coenzyme A consumption. In contrast, administrations of a synthetic IDPc inhibitor, DAl1004, to ob/ob mice effectively reduced body weight with lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In addition, a positive relationship (${\gamma}$ = 0.69, $\rho$<0.0l) between plasma IDPc activity and body mass indexes was observed in 98 randomly-selected human volunteers. Our findings strongly indicate that NADPH produced by IDPc plays an important role in controlling body fat and lipid biosynthesis.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.124-131
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• 2008

The growing problem of obesity is associated with numerous medical conditions. Several studies have reported that activation of thyroid hormone receptor beta $(THR{\beta})$ is involved in lipid metabolism and thermogenesis. To identify the relationship between the $THR{\beta}$ gene and obesity, we genotyped eighty two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene using the Affymetrix array chip in 209 overweight/obese and 155 normal subjects in Korean population. Of the eighty two polymorphisms, the seven SNPs exhibited a significant association with overweight/obesity in three alternative models (codominant, dominant, and recessive models; P<0.05 after adjusting for age and sex) were rs826221 (+267878 T>C), rs4858604 (+186399 A>G), rs1158265 (+200152 T>C), rs1868575 (+206031 G>A), rs1700939 (+238467 T>A), rs1505301 (+241933 T>C), and rs1924768 (+126491 T>C). During haplotype analysis using HapAnalyzer software, 2 haplotypes (block 13: TTAT; block 15: CTGC) containing significant polymorphisms (rs1700939 +238467 T>A and rs4858604 +186399 A>G) were detected to be significantly different. The results suggest that the $THR{\beta}$ gene may be associated with overweight/obesity in Korean population.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.28-37
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• 2017

Obesity is a highly prevalent, chronic disorder that has been increasing in incidence in young patients. Both epigenetic and genetic aberrations may play a role in the pathogenesis of obesity. Therefore, in-depth epigenomic and genomic analyses will advance our understanding of the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying obesity and aid in the selection of potential biomarkers for obesity in youth. Here, we performed microarray-based DNA methylation and gene expression profiling of peripheral white blood cells obtained from six young, obese individuals and six healthy controls. We observed that the hierarchical clustering of DNA methylation, but not gene expression, clearly segregates the obese individuals from the controls, suggesting that the metabolic disturbance that occurs as a result of obesity at a young age may affect the DNA methylation of peripheral blood cells without accompanying transcriptional changes. To examine the genome-wide differences in the DNA methylation profiles of young obese and control individuals, we identified differentially methylated CpG sites and investigated their genomic and epigenomic contexts. The aberrant DNA methylation patterns in obese individuals can be summarized as relative gains and losses of DNA methylation in gene promoters and gene bodies, respectively. We also observed that the CpG islands of obese individuals are more susceptible to DNA methylation compared to controls. Our pilot study suggests that the genome-wide aberrant DNA methylation patterns of obese individuals may advance not only our understanding of the epigenomic pathogenesis but also early screening of obesity in youth.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.870-879
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate the obesity and state of dietary intake of 216 young Korean females, and the influence of $\beta$-II, III Adrenergic receptor (AR) gene polymorphism upon obesity and dietary intake. The average weight, height and BMI of the subjects were 160 cm, 54 kg, and 20.9 kg/$m^2$, respectively. The average triceps skinfold thickness, waist circumference, hip circumference and WHR were 21.7mm, 73.1cm, 93.3cm and 0.78, respectively. The results of body composition measurement using bioimpedance method, average body fluid, body protein, mineral mass and body fat were 29.271, 7.22 kg, 6.79 kg and 19.16 kg, respectively. A dietary survey was conducted using 24-hour recall method. Average calorie intake was 1621 ㎉, which is 81% of Korean RDA. We detected 182 (84.3%) Gln27 (QQ) homozygotes and 34 (15.7%) Gln27Glu (QE) heterozygotes for $\beta$-II AR polymorphism. For $\beta$-III AR polymorphism, we detected 163 (75.5%) Trp64 (WW) and 53 (24.5%) Trp 64Arg (WR). The results of comparing of obesity by $\beta$-II AR gene polymorphism, obesity index and BMI of QE type were slightly higher than those of the QQ type. For $\beta$-III AR gene polymorphism, the mean BMI, obesity index, fat mass and percent body fat (%) of the WR type were significantly higher than those of the WW type (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that genetic variability in the human $\beta$-III AR is associated with obesity among young Korean females. We also evaluated the effect of the simultaneous presence of the $\beta$-II AR and $\beta$-III AR polymorphism on obesity. We found that the BMI and obesity index of the mutant type in both $\beta$-II AR and $\beta$-III AR were significantly higher than those of the type that has only one gene mutation or has no mutation (p < 0.05), indicating a synergistic effect of $\beta$-II AR and $\beta$-III AR polymorphism on obesity. No association was found between $\beta$-II Ad or $\beta$-III AR polymorphism and dietary intake.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2012

This study was performed to develop new anti-obesity agents for functional foods from medicinal plants and herbs. Methanol extracts from 560 kinds of medicinal plants and herbs, and their lipase inhibitory activities were investigated. Methanol extract from Desmodium oxyphyllum Dc showed the highest lipase inhibitory activity at 74.2%. This lipase inhibitory activity was maximally extracted when powder of Desmodium oxyphyllum Dc was treated with 80% methanol (1 : 20) for 48 h.