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Current Obesity Reports

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Open Access 11-10-2023 | Obesity | REVIEW

Genetics and Epigenetics in Obesity: What Do We Know so Far?

Authors: Maria Keller, Stina Ingrid Alice Svensson, Kerstin Rohde-Zimmermann, Peter Kovacs, Yvonne Böttcher

Published in: Current Obesity Reports | Issue 4/2023

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Enormous progress has been made in understanding the genetic architecture of obesity and the correlation of epigenetic marks with obesity and related traits. This review highlights current research and its challenges in genetics and epigenetics of obesity.

Recent Findings

Recent progress in genetics of polygenic traits, particularly represented by genome-wide association studies, led to the discovery of hundreds of genetic variants associated with obesity, which allows constructing polygenic risk scores (PGS). In addition, epigenome-wide association studies helped identifying novel targets and methylation sites being important in the pathophysiology of obesity and which are essential for the generation of methylation risk scores (MRS). Despite their great potential for predicting the individual risk for obesity, the use of PGS and MRS remains challenging.

Summary

Future research will likely discover more loci being involved in obesity, which will contribute to better understanding of the complex etiology of human obesity. The ultimate goal from a clinical perspective will be generating highly robust and accurate prediction scores allowing clinicians to predict obesity as well as individual responses to body weight loss-specific life-style interventions.

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Title: Genetics and Epigenetics in Obesity: What Do We Know so Far?
Authors: Maria Keller
Stina Ingrid Alice Svensson
Kerstin Rohde-Zimmermann
Peter Kovacs
Yvonne Böttcher
Publication date: 11-10-2023
Publisher: Springer US
Keywords: Obesity
Obesity
Epigenetics
Published in: Current Obesity Reports / Issue 4/2023
Electronic ISSN: 2162-4968
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-023-00526-z

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