Research

Mixed

Patients with severe obesity carrying a high genetic risk score for waist-hip ratio (WHR GRS) experience significantly reduced weight loss from a 24-week milk-based meal replacement program compared to those with lower WHR GRS.

If you have a family history of carrying weight around your waist, standard meal replacement diets might be less effective for you than for others. This doesn't mean you can't lose weight, but you may need to manage expectations regarding the speed and magnitude of loss, or consider more intensive support. Genetic testing for waist-hip ratio risk could help tailor your approach.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
The waist–hip ratio (WHR) GRS was inversely associated with percentage total weight loss at 24 weeks (adjusted β for one standard deviation increase in WHR GRS −11.6 [−23.0, −0.3], p = 0.045), and patients in the lowest tertile of WHR GRS lost more weight.
Dale Handley et al. · Journal of Personalized Medicine · 2022

Why this rating

Single-center prospective cohort study with moderate sample size (n=93) and statistical significance, but limited generalizability to non-White populations.

Source

Higher Waist Hip Ratio Genetic Risk Score Is Associated with Reduced Weight Loss in Patients with Severe Obesity Completing a Meal Replacement Programme

Dale Handley et al. · Journal of Personalized Medicine · 2022

DOI 10.3390/jpm12111881

cohort · n=93Cited 3×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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