Childhood obesity genes identified
This is the first genome-wide study to look at a broad range of childhood obesity, not just cases associated with disease. The discovery could lead to interventions and treatments for childhood obesity. Image: tibor5/iStockphoto An international collaborative study including researchers from The University of Western Australia has identified at least two new gene variants that increase the risk of common childhood obesity. The largest-ever genome-wide study of common childhood obesity was conducted by the Early Growth Genetics (EGG) Consortium and considered a broad range of children including data from the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Cohort.The current meta-analysis included 14 different research groups encompassing 5530 cases of childhood obesity and 8300 control subjects of normal weight, all of European ancestry. The study team identified two novel loci, one near the OLFM4 gene on chromosome 13, the other within the HOXB5 gene on chromosome 17. They also found a degree of evidence for two...