They discover a genetic variant that predisposes to obesity

An international team of researchers has discovered that a variant genetics related to blood group can predispose certain individuals to suffer overweight or obesityaccording to a study published this Thursday.

This work, led by experts from the University of Exeter (United Kingdom), confirms that people who have a genetic variant that deactivates the SMIM1 gene have higher body weight because they spend less energy at rest.

SMIM1, the experts explain in a statement, was detected for the first time a decade ago, within the framework of research on the gene that encodes the Vel blood group.

One in every 5,000 individuals with this unusual blood type, they add, lacks both copies of the aforementioned gene, making them Vel-negative.

The findings of this new research suggest that this Vel-negative group is more likely to be overweight and that the absence of both copies of SMIM1 is linked to other indicators of obesity.

These individuals, the authors note, may present with high levels of blood fat, signs of fatty tissue dysfunction, increased liver enzymes, and lower levels of thyroid hormones.

“Our conclusions highlight the need to investigate the genetic cause of obesity to select the most appropriate and effective treatment, but also to reduce the social stigma associated with it.”says the main author of this study, Mattia Frontini, from the University of Exeter.

The expert recalls that the obesity rate has almost tripled over the last 50 years and it is estimated that in 2030 more than one billion people will suffer from this chronic disease, which will economically affect health systems.

“In a small minority of people, obesity is caused by genetic variants. When this is the case, sometimes new treatments can be found that benefit these people,” Frontini observes.

For this research, the authors analyzed the genome of 500,000 subjects registered in the Biobank UK database, identifying 104 people with the genetic variant that causes the loss of functionality of SMIM1.

They concluded that the presence of this genetic variant has a direct impact on the weight of individuals, which in men can be equivalent to an average of 2.4 additional kilograms and 4.6 kilograms in women.

“The SMIM1 gene was discovered only a decade ago, after a long search as a blood group protein in red blood cells, but its other function has not been known until now. “It is very important to discover that it has a more general role in human metabolism,” concludes Jill Storry, co-author of the study, from Lund University (Sweden).