Efforts to identify common and rare variants influencing BMI and risk of obesity have emphasized the key role of neuronal (hypothalamic) regulation of overall adiposity [9]–[17] but provided few clues to processes that are specifically responsible for individual variation in central obesity and fat distribution. Definition of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of fat distribution in general, and visceral fat mass in particular, is therefore key to understanding obesity and its accompanying morbidity and mortality. Given the challenges associated with the pharmacological manipulation of hypothalamic processes, the identification of pathways influencing abdominal fat accumulation would also present novel opportunities for therapeutic development.
