A study involving 300 children with severe obesity by the University of Cambridge has uncovered a gene on chromosome 16 that has a strong link with severe obesity. Researcher Dr Sadaf Farooqi said: "Our results suggest that one particular gene on chromosome 16 called SH2B1 plays a key role in regulating weight and also in handling blood sugar levels. "People with deletions involving this gene had a strong drive to eat and gained weight very easily. "It adds to the growing weight of evidence that a wide range of genetic variants can produce a strong drive to eat. This latest research adds yet another gene to the growing list of genes linked with obesity. It is becoming increasingly clear that obesity is a genuine medical disorder with an underlying genetic basis, and that the perceptions of obesity being caused simply by poor lifestyle choices must now change in light of the emerging evidence.
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