Genes Identified in Common Childhood Obesity

An article in Science Daily, talks about researchers recently discovering at least two new gene variants that are common among obese children.  Struan F.A. Grant, Ph.D.,lead investigator, and associate director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is in charge of the largest ever genome wide study of common childhood obesity.  Their research has been able to identify and characterize a genetic predisposition to obesity among children.  The study was conducted as an international effort to better understand this major health issue plaguing modern day society.   Of course many people blame the  obvious environmental factors for causing obesity studies of twins and other family based research have provided a possible genetic influence.  Past studies have found connections to adults and children that have extreme obesity but none have shed light in regular childhood obesity. The current analysis included 14 previous studies encompassing 5,530 cases of childhood obesity and 8,300 control subjects, all of European ancestry. The study team identified two novel loci, one near the OLFM4 gene on chromosome 13, the other within the HOXB5

[caption id="attachment_4433" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="These common genetic variants can help develop preventative plans for children who are predisposed to obesity."][/caption]

gene on chromosome 17. They also found a degree of evidence for two other gene variants. None of the genes were previously implicated in obesity.  More research is needed but these findings may be useful in creating a preventative inerventions for children based on their genomes.

Childhood obesity is a growing world wide health issue and if genetic research can help children prevent this condition than we need to fund more research to benefit society and its struggle with this condition.