Different biological processes appear to drive body mass index during infancy and later in childhood and adulthood, which could inform obesity prevention strategies.
Rhythm has a drug called setmelanotide in Phase III development for genetic obesity disorders associated with variants within the melanocortin-4 pathway.
The researchers found that while BMI broadly increased over time in their Norwegian cohort, genetically predisposed individuals were more highly affected.
The firm, Phenomix Sciences, anticipates that its test will help drive adoption of medications for obesity at a time when patients are reluctant to take them.
In a study of more than 300,000 participants, middle-aged individuals with a high polygenic score weighed nearly 30 pounds more on average than those with lower scores.
