New Genes Mean the Future of Obesity Treatment Could Get Personal

reports that two companion papers published Feb. 11 in the journal Nature “describe the results of two studies that connected the obesity-related factors of body mass index...and fat distribution to their potential genetic drivers.” The studies, which examined the “genomes of nearly 340,000 people,” were able to identify “areas in the human genome where people with different BMIs and different patterns of fat distribution varied in their genetic code.” one study “found 97 different DNA mutations that affect obesity,” and these mutations are located throughout the body, including the brain. Meanwhile, the “second study found 49 mutations that affect where that fat goes — and that helps explain why some people are apple-shaped while others are pear-shaped.” Both studies indicate that “obesity is a really complex disease.” http://time.com/3704927/genetic-clues-obesity/