Genetische obesitas

• Obesity is an important risk factor for morbidity and premature death, as well as a contributing factor to psychosocial problems. The incidence of obesity has increased dramatically over the last few decades.
• Obesity is considered to be a multifactorial condition in which both environmental factors and genetic factors play a part.
• In approximately 5% of patients with morbid obesity, a monogenic cause can be identified. Mutations in the MC4R gene are the most frequently occurring monogenic cause of obesity.
• The department of Genetics at the VU University Medical Center Amsterdam offers morbidly obese patients a diagnostic analysis of 50 obesity-associated genes.
• An underlying obesity-associated genetic defect can influence patient response to certain treatments. Therefore, if the gene defect is known, it can be taken into account when considering treatment options.
• The understanding of the genetics of obesity will significantly contribute to research into the development of personalized treatment options.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.