Abstract
This research studied the eating behavior and genetic factors that cause masked obesity, in which body fat percentage is high even though the body weight is low or normal, a phenomenon that is increasing among young Japanese women. This study performed physical measurement, an eating-behavior survey based on EAT-26, and a genetic polymorphism test that used the non-invasive collection of fingernail clippings on 94 young women. The result showed that 13. 8% of the women have masked obesity, while 39. 4% have masked obesity tendency, and the total of both groups equaled more than half the total number (53. 2%). When the masked obesity group is compared to the standard group, no difference can be seen in the frequency of appearance of β3-adrenergic receptor (β3AR) genetic polymorphism (Trp64Arg) and insulin-induced gene 2 (INSIG2) genetic polymorphism (rs7566605), but there is a significantly higher rating in EAT-26. These results suggest the possibility that unique eating behavior habits of young women are largely involved in causing masked obesity in this population.
