an effect in the opposite direction to that previously reported for the locus. This apparent directional inconsistency is likely to be due to the influence of GSVs that are appreciably larger than those previously reported, suggesting that the different variants identified at this locus have widely varying functional effects. A role for FOXP2 in obesity is supported by the presence within the gene of independent SNP associations at P<10−3 with all of BMI [14], waist-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI) [15] and insulin resistance [27] (Figure S3). A plausible basis for association between FOXP2 variants and obesity is through its involvement in neurodevelopment [28], whose importance in feeding behaviour is well-established [29]; alternatively, an obesity-related phenotype might be independent of effects on FOXP2, and result instead from deletion of a putative NF-κB binding site.
