Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Apr 14;312(5771):279-83.
doi: 10.1126/science.1124779.

A common genetic variant is associated with adult and childhood obesity

Alan Herbert  1 , Norman P Gerry, Matthew B McQueen, Iris M Heid, Arne Pfeufer, Thomas Illig, H-Erich Wichmann, Thomas Meitinger, David Hunter, Frank B Hu, Graham Colditz, Anke Hinney, Johannes Hebebrand, Kerstin Koberwitz, Xiaofeng Zhu, Richard Cooper, Kristin Ardlie, Helen Lyon, Joel N Hirschhorn, Nan M Laird, Marc E Lenburg, Christoph Lange, Michael F Christman
Affiliations

A common genetic variant is associated with adult and childhood obesity

Alan Herbert et al. Science. .

Abstract

Obesity is a heritable trait and a risk factor for many common diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. We used a dense whole-genome scan of DNA samples from the Framingham Heart Study participants to identify a common genetic variant near the INSIG2 gene associated with obesity. We have replicated the finding in four separate samples composed of individuals of Western European ancestry, African Americans, and children. The obesity-predisposing genotype is present in 10% of individuals. Our study suggests that common genetic polymorphisms are important determinants of obesity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances