Obesity & Weight Loss

Obesity Genetics

Obesity is closely linked to genetics and environmental factors. Infrequently, obesity occurs in families according to a clear heritage pattern caused by changes in a single gene. The most generally intertwined gene is MC4R, which encodes the melanocortin 4 receptor. From an analysis of around, 000 children from six countries – including the United States – experimenters set up that around 20 percent of a child's body mass indicator (BMI) is inherited from their mother, while a farther 20 percent is inherited from their father. Rarely, a clear pattern of inherited obesity within a family is caused by a specific variant of a single gene (monogenic obesity). Utmost obesity, still, presumably results from complex relations among multiple genes and environmental factors that remain inadequately understood (multifactorial obesity).