Research

Mixed

The ALDH2 genetic variant (rs671) associated with BMI has an antagonistic effect with alcohol consumption, showing a BMI-increasing effect primarily among non-drinkers.

For East Asians with the ALDH2 variant, the genetic link to BMI appears to be stronger in those who do not drink alcohol. This suggests that alcohol consumption might interact with this specific genetic risk factor, potentially masking or altering its effect on body weight.

GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Our study suggested an antagonistic effect of alcohol consumption on the ALDH2–BMI association. The ALDH*1 BMI-increasing effect was mainly observed among non-drinkers.
Wanqing Wen et al. · Human Molecular Genetics · 2014

Why this rating

Based on subset analyses of two specific studies (SGWAS and KCPS-II) with direct access to individual data, but not the full meta-analysis sample.

Source

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in East Asian-ancestry populations identifies four new loci for body mass index

Wanqing Wen et al. · Human Molecular Genetics · 2014

DOI 10.1093/hmg/ddu248

Meta-analysis · 21 studiesCited 203×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →