The genetics of obesity: from discovery to biology.
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Peer-reviewed
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Abstract
The prevalence of obesity has tripled over the past four decades, imposing an enormous burden on people's health. Polygenic (or common) obesity and rare, severe, early-onset monogenic obesity are often polarized as distinct diseases. However, gene discovery studies for both forms of obesity show that they have shared genetic and biological underpinnings, pointing to a key role for the brain in the control of body weight. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with increasing sample sizes and advances in sequencing technology are the main drivers behind a recent flurry of new discoveries. However, it is the post-GWAS, cross-disciplinary collaborations, which combine new omics technologies and analytical approaches, that have started to facilitate translation of genetic loci into meaningful biology and new avenues for treatment.
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1471-0064
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Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12012/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12012/5)
MRC (MR/S026193/1)
MRC (MC_UU_00014/5)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/S017593/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_12012)