Epigenetic Causes of Obesity
Book chapter > Chapter Other Book · 2023
Authors: Özlem Naciye Şahin, Samim ÖZEN, Despina D. Briana
Breastfeeding and Metabolic Programming, Chapter Other Book, International, 2023, pp 191-199, ,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-33278-4_16
Summary
Obesity is a multifactorial disorder in which genetics, epigenetics and the environment all act and interact with each other. Through a number of investigative techniques, including linkage analysis, genome-wide association studies and large-scale sequencing of either the entire genome or the exon-containing component, a large number of genes have been implicated in the processes predisposing to severe obesity [1, 2]. At present, the number of locations on the genome with established associations with obesity exceeds 200 [3, 4]. Nonetheless, genetic variability is insufficient to account for the patterns of inheritance observed in obese individuals, and clustering in families also indicates epigenetic factors. Epigenetic modifications are also caused by changes in the environment, such as overfeeding [5, 6], and a proportion of epigenetic alterations appear irreversible.