Summary

Obesity is a primary indicator for development of type 2 diabetes and possibly cancer. These diseases are associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Early presentation of obesity is linked to the degree of morbidity. Here, we present a research program that can identify novel obesity risk genes for detection of early childhood obesity and diabetes. In addition, this research program will identify common and rare genetic variants associated with obesity susceptibility and birth weight/childhood weight regulation. These findings may open up the possibility for new research fields on genetic epidemiology in obesity and diabetes investigations, mechanisms for how obesity and diabetes develop including expression studies of susceptibility genes in liver, muscle and fat tissues in subjects with obesity and/or diabetes, and targeted treatment by existing or novel drugs.