How do genetics make some people ‘fatter but healthy’

The genetics of favourable adiposity

In general, being overweight or obese is linked to a higher risk of heart and circulatory diseases. However, some people who are overweight do not have this increased risk, and experts believe this is due to the way fat is distributed inside their body. Professor Tim Frayling and his team are working to identify small differences in genes to explain the genes that affect the way our bodies lay down fat and why certain ways could be protective. The team will analyse data from 480,000 participants of a huge research programme called Biobank. They will look for common patterns in the genes of participants who have a high fat mass but healthy heart and blood vessels. In these people, they will also analyse MRI scans to see where the fat accumulates; whether it is more under the skin and less around the vital organs such as the liver. This study will reveal if these genes change where and how the body lays down fat. It will help us understand how people’s risk of heart and circulatory disease is affected by being overweight, and which groups of people would benefit most from weight loss.