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DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1586394
Leptin-Melanocortin Pathway and childhood obesity
Subject Editor:
Publication History
05 May 2011
18 July 2011
Publication Date:
01 August 2016 (online)
![](https://www.thieme-connect.de/media/10.1055-s-00029022/201201/lookinside/thumbnails/10.1055s-0036-1586394_00039-1.jpg)
Abstract
Childhood obesity is a major health epidemic caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Evidence suggests a strong role of genetic factors in the predisposition to obesity. Several monogenic forms of obesity have also been reported. Mutations in the genes involved in the leptin-melanocortin pathway have been found to cause these forms of obesity mainly by increasing the energy intake. Genes involved in the leptin-melanocortin pathway play a crucial role in human energy homeostasis. In this review we discuss the role of the leptin-melanocortin pathway in the regulation of energy balance with special reference to the association between the genetic variants in the genes involved in the pathway and childhood obesity.