Researchers have begun to unravel the complex links between genes and obesity with the discovery of about 20 spots on human chromosomes that may influence people's weight.
"We're well on our way," said Claude Bouchard of Laval University in Ste-Foy, Quebec. He said he is involved in studies that have identified 10 to 12 genes related to body fat content or to the body's response to overeating.Janis Fisler and Craig Warden at the University of California, Los Angeles have identified six locations in the genes of mice that are likely to harbor genes related to obesity. All of those genes have counterparts in humans, they said.
Other research has suggested other candidate genes, so the current total of specific genes or genetic regions linked to obesity is now about 20, Bouchard said Wednesday at the Seventh International Congress on Obesity.
Understanding the genetic basis of obesity could lead to new ways to treat it once scientists learn more about manipulating genes that cause disorders.
Bouchard, one of the leaders in the study of the genetic basis of obesity, said that an individual's genes play a substantial role in whether he or she will be overweight.
The genes or approximate gene locations that have been identified so far are likely only the first of many more obesity-related genes that remain to be discovered, Bouchard said.
Fisler and Warden made their discoveries using mice they bred that develop obesity in much the same way humans do. They are now trying to isolate the genes producing the obesity in the mice, with the hope that the human counterparts of those genes will be important in understanding human obesity.