Here’s How Lifestyle Interventions Shape Gene Regulation in Asians
Lifestyle choices do more than influence weight or fitness levels. They can actually change how your genes work. A new study from the National University of Singapore (NUS) shows that diet and exercise can reprogram gene activity in East Asians, boosting metabolic health and even weakening certain inherited risks for disease.
The Singapore Adult Metabolism Study (SAMS2) brought together 54 overweight or obese East Asian adults for a 16-week supervised program. The participants followed a structured plan designed to produce measurable changes in both their bodies and their genes. By the end, they had lost about 10% of their body weight and improved their insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by roughly 30%.
When researchers examined participants’ skeletal muscle, they found significant changes in gene regulation. Using transcriptome analysis, the team identified 505 genes that were expressed differently after the program.
Olly / Pexels / New National University of Singapore (NUS) reveals that diet and exercise significantly alter gene regulation in the skeletal muscle of East Asians.
Some genes stood out for their known ties to metabolism. ANK1 and CRTC3, both associated with metabolic traits, showed clear shifts in regulation after the lifestyle program. That means the intervention didn’t just tweak the body’s immediate responses. It altered the instructions at the cellular level, which could have lasting effects on health.
The team also used quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping to uncover hundreds of genetic variants that responded to the lifestyle changes. These included both expression QTLs (eQTLs), which affect how much of a gene is made, and splicing QTLs (sQTLs), which influence how genetic messages are processed. Notably, 4.2% of eQTLs and 7.3% of sQTLs were found only in East Asians. This underscores the importance of population-specific research.
What This Study Shows
This is a critical point because most genomic studies have historically focused on European populations. Without data from other groups, health recommendations may not reflect the unique genetic landscapes of different communities. By focusing on East Asians, the NUS team provided insights that can lead to more precise, culturally relevant lifestyle advice.
Pixabay / Pexels / One of the most compelling findings was how lifestyle changes affected genetic risk.
For some participants, known genetic risk factors for metabolic diseases became less influential after the intervention. In other words, even if your DNA puts you at higher risk for certain conditions, a targeted lifestyle program might significantly reduce that risk.
These results also support the concept of gene-lifestyle (G × L) interactions, which describe how environmental factors like diet and exercise influence genetic expression. The idea isn’t new, but this is one of the first studies to document it so clearly in an East Asian population with rigorous before-and-after genetic analysis.
However, what makes this study stand out is its depth and duration. Many lifestyle studies focus on surface-level outcomes, weight loss, cholesterol levels, or blood pressure changes, without looking under the hood at what is happening to the genome. By combining supervised lifestyle interventions with genetic mapping, the NUS team created the first integrated longitudinal dataset tracking gene regulation changes in Asians over time.
This work has practical implications for public health. If a relatively short, 16-week program can produce such significant genetic changes, longer or repeated interventions could have an even greater impact.