Research
Mixed
Polygenic obesity is influenced by hundreds of genetic variants affecting various biological pathways, including the central nervous system, adipocyte differentiation, and gut microbiota.
Your genetics play a role in your weight, but they are not your destiny. Lifestyle changes can still be effective, and future personalized medicine may offer more targeted treatments based on your specific genetic profile.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
With the emergence of genome-wide association studies over the last decade, 227 genetic variants involved in different biological pathways (central nervous system, food sensing and digestion, adipocyte differentiation, insulin signalling, lipid metabolism, muscle and liver biology, gut microbiota) have been associated with polygenic obesity.
Why this rating
Based on large-scale GWAS studies, which are robust but explain only a portion of heritability.
Source
Recent progress in genetics, epigenetics and metagenomics unveils the pathophysiology of human obesity
Marie Pigeyre et al. · Clinical Science · 2016
DOI 10.1042/cs20160136
narrative_reviewCited 402×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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