genetic factors and obesity
Last reviewed 05/2021
- twin, adoption and family studies have shown that genetic factors can
play a role in the pathogenesis of obesity
- however, while obesity runs in families, a Mendelian inheritance pattern is rarely evident
- exceptions
include uncommon disorders such as:
- Prader-Willi syndrome (autosomal dominant, 1 in 25,000)
- Bardet-Biedl syndrome (autosomal recessive, 1 in 100,000) syndromes
- note that there have also been described monogenic forms of obesity such as congenital leptin deficiency and melanocortin-3 receptor mutations - these monogenic forms account for only a small proportion of cases of morbid obesity
Reference:
- British Heart Foundation (November 2004). Factfile - The causes of obesity.