In Your Head

Two articles published in Nature Genetics found new gene variants associated with high body mass index and that appear to be active in the brain. The Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits consortium did a meta-analysis of 15 genome-wide association studies to find six loci associated with obesity, many of which act in the central nervous system. Researchers led by Decode Genetics' Kari Stefansson performed a genome-wide association study of weight and body mass index, identifying 29 variants, seven of which had not been linked to obesity before. The British Heart Foundation's Peter Weissberg told the BBC, "It suggests that some people may be less able than others to resist the temptation to overeat because of their genetic background and it might start to explain why some people have no problem keeping their weight down whilst others struggle."