Scientists Find New Genetic Triggers for Obesity Risk

Researchers believe they have discovered a new biological mechanism for obesity, pointing to rare variants on two genes that dramatically increase the risk of carrying excess weight.

Research published in the journal Nature Genetics on Thursday points to variants that raise the chance of being obese by as much a six times. Unlike other known variants that affect weight gain in children, these only appear to play a role in adults.

Unraveling obesity’s mechanisms could help scientists develop new drugs, or tailor existing ones, for a condition that now affects one in eight people. For the first time, patients ...