Role of MicroRNAs in Dietary Interventions for Obesity and Obesity-Related Diseases

Abstract

Obesity and related metabolic syndromes pose a serious threat to human health and quality of life. A proper diet is a safe and effective strategy to prevent and control obesity, thus maintaining overall health. However, no consensus exists on the connotations of proper diet, and it is attributed to various factors, including “nutritional dark matter” and the “matrix effect” of food. Accumulating evidence confirms that obesity is associated with the in vivo levels of miRNAs, which serve as potential markers and regulatory targets for obesity onset and progression; food-derived miRNAs can regulate host obesity by targeting the related genes or gut microbiota across the animal kingdom. Host miRNAs mediate food nutrient-gut microbiota-obesity interactions. Thus, miRNAs are important correlates of diet and obesity onset. This review outlines the recent findings on miRNA-mediated food interventions for obesity, thereby elucidating their potential applications. Overall, we provide new perspectives and views on the evaluation of dietary nutrition, which may bear important implications for dietary control and obesity prevention.

MiRNA research—The potential for understanding the multiple facets of anorexia nervosa

“…A considerable number of studies have investigated miRNA regulation in obesity (Manoel Alves et al, 2019; Zhang et al, 2023). For example, miR‐222 derived from adipose tissue was recognized as a significant biological indicator of weight gain in a 5‐year longitudinal study using the blood plasma of 300 women (Zhao et al, 2017).…”