Abstract
Several hundred genes associated or linked to obesity have been described in the scientific literature. Whereas many of these genes are potential targets for the treatment of obesity and associated conditions, none of them have permitted the developement of an efficient drug therapy. As proposed by the ‘thrifty genotype’ theory, obesity genes may have conferred an evolutionary advantage in times of food shortage through efficient energy exploitation, while ‘lean’ or ‘energy expenditure’ genes may have become very rare during the same periods. It is therefore a challenge to identify ‘energy expenditure genes’ or ‘energy absorption genes,’ whose mutations or single nucleotide polymorphisms do result in reduced energy intake. We submit that such ‘energy absorption’ or ‘energy expenditure’ genes (crucial genes) are potential new targets for the treatment of obesity. These genes can be identified in rare genetic diseases that produce a lean, failure-to-thrive, energy malabsorption or starvation phenotype.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank David Bensimon for critically reading the manuscript and for many helpful discussions. We also thank the three anonymous referees for their comments and suggestions, which helped to improve the article and make it clearer and more readable.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.