Departments of Nutrition, Cell and Molecular Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7461, USA. dpomp@unc.edu
Little is known about genetic variants that predispose individuals toward leanness or fatness. This minireview highlights recent advances in the study of human populations, animal models and synergistic efforts as described by De Luca and colleagues in BMC Genetics, which are beginning to harvest low-hanging fruit in the search for obesity genes.