ABSTRACT
Polygenic effects are relevant in human body weight regulation. However, most of the currently described confirmed genetic influences on obesity are conferred by a single gene either with a recessive (e.g. leptin deficiency), dominant or codominant (e.g. reduction in melanocortin-4 receptor tone) mode of inheritance. Genetic mechanisms of body weight regulation are complex; hence there is presumably a hundreds of genes involved in common obesity. Polygenic effects will each be rather small, but frequently affect a substantial proportion of obese individuals and, to a somewhat lesser extent, normal weight and even lean individuals. Association between genetic variants and common human disorders such as obesity could have implications for their prediction, prevention, and treatment.
