Obesity: Loss of certain genes increases the risk of overweight

A new cause of obesity linked to an chromosome 16 abnormality has been highlighted. It explains about 1% of cases. The work is a result of a collaboration between many European researchers. It will be published Thursday, February 4 in Nature.

New perspectives for targeted preventive treatment are opened now. The international team focused on the role played by the absence of a small fragment of chromosome 16 in the occurrence of severe form of obesity.

This anomaly more accurately called "microdeletion" (loss of a fraction of chromosome) causes the deletion of thirty different genes in this region. Researchers have discovered that this microdeletion, absent in most individuals, is quite common among the obese.

They believe that the risk of developing severe obesity is much more higher for individuals having an abnormality of chromosome 16.

"If the identity of the genes responsible for obesity remains to be determined, it is likely that these genes play a role in brain development," specialists note, "because this chromosomal region is known to be linked to development of schizophrenia and autism, two diseases often complicated by obesity. These results also confirm the link between obesity and neuropsychiatric diseases.

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