Research

Hormonal

Genetic linkage near the TNF-alpha locus is associated with higher percent body fat in Pima Indians, suggesting a genetic contribution to obesity susceptibility in this population.

This research suggests that for Pima Indians, obesity may have a strong genetic basis linked to the TNF-alpha region. This doesn't mean weight loss is impossible, but it implies that biological factors play a significant role in body fat regulation for this group, potentially requiring tailored approaches to diet and activity.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
In a sib-pair linkage analysis, percent body fat, as measured by hydrostatic weighing, was linked (304 sib-pairs, P = 0.002) to the marker closest (10 kb) to TNF-a.
Rachel Norman et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1995

Why this rating

Strong linkage statistics (P=0.002) in a specific population, but no causal variant was found, and the mechanism is inferred rather than directly proven for the variant.

Source

Linkage between obesity and a marker near the tumor necrosis factor-alpha locus in Pima Indians.

Rachel Norman et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1995

DOI 10.1172/jci118016

cohort · n=764Cited 129×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →