13 Apr 07

Scientists from Oxford and the Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, have identified the most clear genetic link yet to obesity in the general population. People with two copies of a particular gene variant have a 70 per cent higher risk of being obese than those with no copies.

Obesity is a major cause of disease, associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. It is typically measured using body mass index (BMI). As a result of reduced physical activity and increased food consumption, the prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide.

The researchers first identified a genetic link to obesity through a genome-wide study of 2,000 people with type 2 diabetes and 3,000 controls. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases significantly for obese people. Through its effect on BMI, having one copy of the FTO allele increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 25 per cent, having two by 50 per cent.

The study was part of the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, one of the biggest projects ever undertaken to identify the genetic variations that may predispose people to or protect them from major diseases.

The researchers then tested a further 37,000 samples for this gene. They identified a strong association between an increase in BMI and a variation, or 'allele', of the gene FTO. Their findings are published online today in the journal Science.

The study found that people carrying one copy of the FTO allele have a 30 per cent increased risk of being obese compared to a person with no copies. However, a person carrying two copies of the allele has a 70 per cent increased risk of being obese, being on average 3kg heavier than a similar person with no copies.

Amongst white Europeans, approximately one in six people carry both copies of the allele.

'As a nation, we are eating more but doing less exercise, and so the average weight is increasing, but within the population some people seem to put on more weight than others,' explains Professor Andrew Hattersley from the Peninsula Medical School. 'Our findings suggest a possible answer to someone who might ask I eat the same and do as much exercise as my friend next door, so why am I fatter? There is clearly a component to obesity that is genetic.'

The researchers currently do not know why people with copies of the FTO allele have an increased BMI and rates of obesity.

'Even though we have yet to fully understand the role played by the FTO gene in obesity, our findings are a source of great excitement,' says Professor Mark McCarthy from the University of Oxford. 'By identifying this genetic link, it should be possible to improve our understanding of why some people are more obese, with all the associated implications such as increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. New scientific insights will hopefully pave the way for us to explore novel ways of treating this condition.'