UniProt release 11.2

Obesity in the spotlight

Over the last 40 years, overweight and obesity have become a central health issue in a growing number of countries. Obesity comorbidities are severe and include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and some cancers. The two fundamental causes of obesity are clearly identified as an increased intake of high-fat and energy-dense diets and a decrease of physical activity. However, there is growing evidence that certain gene products have a direct or indirect influence on body mass.

In 1999, the mouse Fto gene was cloned and called Fatso, because of its large size (at least 250 kb). By a curious coincidence, the human orthologous protein was recently shown to predispose to childhood and adult obesity. The main culprits are intronic variations in the FTO gene. Carriers of one (or two) inherited copy (copies) of the variants have an increased risk of obesity of 30% or 70%, respectively. The function of Fatso is not yet known. This protein, along with other proteins involved in the development of obesity, can be retrieved from the UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot using the keyword Obesity.