BBC NEWS reports on a study that identifies a gene that may play a role in obesity:
The Imperial study, of more than 1,200 people, identified two forms of the GAD2 gene. One protected against obesity, the other made it more likely by stimulating the appetite. Thinner volunteers were found to be more likely to carry the protective form of the gene, while the other version was more common in obese people. It seems to stimulate overeating by speeding up production of a chemical messenger in the brain called GABA, or gamma-amino butyric acid. When combined with another molecule GABA stimulates us to eat.
