Study Identifies Four New Genetic Markers For Severe Childhood Obesity [news]

Unhealthy food environments and sedentary lifestyles certainly contribute to obesity, but they can’t entirely explain weight gain. The latest research points to four new genes that could contribute to the most extreme cases of obesity in childhood. By comparing the genomes of 1,509 children in the UK with severe obesity to 5,380 similar children of normal weight, an international team of researchers first identified a series of 29 genetic changes that distinguished the heavier children. Narrowing these differences down to those that influence obesity, they found nine genes strongly linked to early weight gain, five of which were known, and four of which are new.