indicated by ChIP-seq) for transcription factors including NF-κB, which has been implicated in the regulation of adipocyte differentiation and proliferation [23]. Thus, these larger variants may have very different functional effects from the smaller deletions. Consistent with this, the subjects carrying the 5 largest putative deletions in this region had significantly reduced BMI compared to both the population (P = 7.8×10−3, mean BMI change = –4.2 kg.m−2 [–6.8––1.2]) and carriers of the smaller deletions (P = 0.0177, one-tailed t-test). The smaller variants had no discernible impact on BMI (P = 0.88).
