Defective Gene Is To Blame For Childhood Obesity
Author: Maryam Ayres
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
The loss of a region (deletion) in the SH2B gene, located on chromosome 16, leads to a severe form of obesity in children ...
American scientists from the University of Cambridge have found out the causes of severe forms of obesity, which develop at an early age. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature.
The study involved 300 children with severe obesity. The researchers analyzed the genomes of each of the volunteers to see if there were differences in the number of copies of certain segments of DNA.
The researchers compared the DNA of overweight patients with the genetic material of more than 7,000 normal-weight children.
The absence of some parts of the genome has been found in obese patients.
The analysis showed that severe obesity in children leads to the loss of a region (deletion) in the SH2B gene located on chromosome 16. These mutations were found in five obese patients and only in two of the normal-weight children in the control group. According to the study's authors, the SH2B1 gene is responsible for regulating weight and blood sugar levels. Any change in this gene causes metabolic disorders that lead to weight gain and obesity.
Researchers who translated the study are adamant that the discovery of the genetic causes of obesity will play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood obesity.
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