Research continues into the genetics of
obesity and an update of the human obesity gene
map has been published. More than 300 genes,
markers, and chromosomal regions have been
associated or linked with human obesity
phenotypes. The number of genes and other
markers associated or linked with human obesity
phenotypes continues to expand (Chagnon et al.,
2003). Of course, some of these loci will turn out
to be more important than others, and many will
eventually be proven to be false positives. The
main goals remain to identify the combination of
genes and mutations that are contributing to the
predisposition to human obesity and to determine
the environmental circumstances under which
these gene combinations and mutations occur.
As we near the completion of the final draft of the
human genome sequence and, with it, a more
exhaustive annotation of the genome, we expect
continuous advances in the understanding of the
genetic basis of the predisposition to human
obesity (Rossner, 2002).