Psychological effects of genetic testing for risk of weight gain

Obesity gene testing does not put people off weight loss and may help to reduce self-blame, according to a new study by researchers from the Health Behaviour Research Centre at UCL. Previous studies have shown that genes play a role in a person's risk of becoming overweight. One gene, called FTO, has been found to have the biggest influence so far. FTO has two variants, one associated with greater risk of weight gain (A) and one associated with lower risk (T). One in two people carries at least one copy of the A variant. People who inherit two A variants (one from their mother and one from their father) are 70% more likely to become obese than those with two'T variants. Even those who inherit one have a higher weight than those with two'T variants.