Rare genetic forms of obesity more numerous, diverse than previously thought
Previous reviews on obesity have reported 20 to 30 syndromes, but in the first systematic review on obesity syndromes, investigators from McMaster and the University of British Columbia have catalogued 79 syndromes with obesity that have been described in the literature. The research was published in Obesity Reviews and led by David Meyre, an associate professor of the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact with the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. "Rare genetic forms of obesity with many additional clinical features, such as intellectual disability, facial and organ-specific abnormalities, do exist," said Meyre, the senior author of the paper who holds the Canada Research Chair in Genetics of Obesity. "These syndromes, although individually rare, are much more numerous and diverse than anticipated," added Yuvreet Kaur, the study's first author and a recent graduate of the McMaster Bachelor of Sciences Honours Biology Program....