Multiple biological, behavioural and genetic determinants or correlates of obesity have been identified to date. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have contributed to the identification of more than 100 obesity-associated genetic variants, but their roles in causal processes leading to obesity remain largely unknown. Most variants are likely to have tissue-specific regulatory roles through joint contributions to biological pathways and networks, through changes in gene expression that influence quantitative traits, or through the regulation of the epigenome. The recent availability of large-scale functional genomics resources provides an opportunity to re-examine obesity GWAS data to begin elucidating the function of genetic variants. Interrogation of knockout mouse phenotype resources provides a further avenue to test for evidence of convergence between genetic variation and biological or behavioural determinants of obesity.

迄今为止，已经确定了肥胖的多种生物学，行为和遗传决定因素或相关因素。全基因组关联研究（GWAS）有助于鉴定100多个与肥胖相关的遗传变异，但是它们在导致肥胖的因果过程中所起的作用仍然未知。通过对生物学途径和网络的共同贡献，影响定量性状的基因表达变化或通过表观基因组的调控，大多数变体可能具有组织特异性的调控作用。大规模功能基因组学资源的最新可用性为重新研究肥胖症GWAS数据提供了机会，以开始阐明遗传变异的功能。