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Obesity among children and adults has escalated recently and represents a global major health problem because it increases the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.
While the contribution of environmental factors such as consumption of high energy/and fast food is a well-known as a cause of pediatric obesity, recent studies showed there is a clear role for genetic component to this disease: In the past seven years, studies have identified nearly a hundred loci implicated in fat accumulations in adults.1
Rarely, a clear pattern of inherited obesity within a family is caused by a specific single gene, this usually causes severe obesity before the age of two and needs an obesity specialist. Most obesity, cases however result from complex interactions among multiple genes and the environment, the so-called genetic predisposition, which cause the child to have a tendency to increase their hunger level, reduce satiety and more tendency towards being sedentary and store body fat.2
Dr. Kawthar Alamiddine
Neonatologist
References:
1-Kleinendorst L, Massink MPG, Cooiman MI, et al. Genetic obesity: next-generation sequencing results of 1230 patients with obesity. J Med Genet. 2018;55(9):578-586.
2-Obesity and Genetics: Nature and Nurture. Obesity medicine Association July 23, 2018.
