RECENT ADVANCES IN THE GENETIC DISSECTION OF OBESITY

753 The purpose of the session is to examine the research strategies and methods that are currently used to undertake the dissection of the genetic susceptibility to obesity. Recent advances in the genetic and molecular basis of the etiology of the disease will also be reviewed. An overview of the findings from the single gene rodent models of obesity will be presented. The evidence accumulated on quantitative trait loci from cross-breeding experiments of inbred strains of rodents will be summarized. Results from transgenic and knockout models of obesity will be discussed. Finally, the current status of the human obesity gene map will be described. The implications of these recent developments for the understanding of human obesity will be highlighted.