Researchers unlock secrets of obesity gene

LONDON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- British scientists say they've discovered some of the ways an obesity gene can trigger weight gain in some people.

Geneticists earlier this year discovered a variation in a gene called FTO that can influence a person's risk of becoming obese. Now researchers from the University of Cambridge, Oxford University and Cancer Research UK, London, have found that the protein corresponding to the FTO is an enzyme that modifies DNA, Britain's Telegraph newspaper said Friday.

The researchers also found that FTO is highly expressed in a region of the brain, called the hypothalamus, which has important roles in the control of hunger and satiety.

Carriers of the variant are an average of 3.5 pounds heavier than those who don't have the variant. Those who carry two copies of the variant are about 6.5 pounds heavier, the earlier study found.