In search of genetic determinants of obesity.

Common obesity is a multifactorial trait that lies at the interface between the biology of body energy regulation and the environment. Obesity involves genetic predisposition but also metabolic, hormonal, behavioural, social and cultural aspects. According to some estimates 40 to 70 percent of the variation in obesity-related phenotypes is heritable. Mutations in a single gene cause only about 5% of cases. The number of genes and markers associated or linked with human obesity is more than 200. Interactions between multiple genes, environment and human personality, make the search for obesity-related genes especially challenging.