Scientists claim to have found 'obesity gene'

An international team of researchers is claiming to have identified the role of a gene which may explain why some people overeat and become obese.

Their research, published today in the Public Library of Science Biology, found that the gene GAD2 has an appetite stimulating role, and that one form of the gene is strongly associated with obese people.

While the researchers recognise that obesity is a result of the interactions of many genes and environmental factors, this is one of the first genes to be strongly touted as a candidate gene for obesity.

GAD2 acts by speeding up production of a neurotransmitter in the brain called GABA, or gamma-amino butyric acid. When GABA interacts with another molecule named neuropeptide Y in a specific area of the brain - the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus - we are stimulated to eat, the report said.

The researchers behind this study believe that people who carry a more active form of the GAD2 gene build up a larger than normal quantity of GABA in the hypothalamus, and suggest that this over-accumulation of GABA drives the stimulus to eat further than normal, and is thus a basis for explaining why obese people overeat.

Professor Philippe Froguel, senior author of the research, from Imperial College London, and Hammersmith Hospital, London, and who carried out the research while at the Institut Pasteur de Lille, France, said: "Genetic factors alone can not explain the rapid rise in obesity rates, but they may provide clues to preventative and therapeutic approaches that will ease the health burden associated with obesity.

"Having identified this gene, it may be possible to develop a screening programme to identify those who may be at risk of becoming obese later in life, and take effective preventative measures."

(gmcg)