Obesity Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Obesity, including details on health, diet, prevention, exercise.

The genetics of human obesity.

Bell CG, Walley AJ, Froguel P

Section of Genomic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.

Obesity is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries, and is also becoming increasingly prevalent in the developing world. Although environmental factors are important, there is considerable evidence that genes also have a significant role in its pathogenesis. The identification of genes that are involved in monogenic, syndromic and polygenic obesity has greatly increased our knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie this condition. In the future, dissection of the complex genetic architecture of obesity will provide new avenues for treatment and prevention, and will increase our understanding of the regulation of energy balance in humans.

Published 1 March 2005 in Nat Rev Genet, 6(3): 221-34.
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