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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2007;297:2063-2064.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A large meta-analysis of research articles has pointed to a common variant of a gene that may predispose some individuals to obesity. While the variant was associated with only a modest increase in weight gain, it appears to cause obesity in a population already experiencing excess weight gain, the study investigators said (Frayling TM et al. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1141634 [published online April 12, 2007]).

WEIGHTY GENE

It was during a genome-wide search for type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes that a team of scientists, primarily in the United Kingdom, first identified this variant, which lies within the FTO gene on chromosome 16.

A recent meta-analysis has found a common genetic variant that helps expain why some individuals are more prone to obesity than others. (Photo credit: Simon Fraser/http://www.sciencesource.com)

"Using groundbreaking microchip technology, we were able to look at over 500 000 points in the genome, and we found that . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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