Sample Solution

Social factors associated with obesity include neglect, abuse, and generally non-supportive home environments. Neglected children are nine times more likely to become obese than other children (8). Food provides comfort and therefore that eating serves as a compensatory mechanism for children who have survived traumatic experiences or who live in difficult environments.

3. Genetics:
The current epidemic of obesity clearly reflects the environmental and behavior changes during the past half century, but the genetic background remains important, especially in the severe forms of obesity. In the most recent published update, there were more than 430 genes, markers, and chromosomal regions associated or linked with human obesity phenotypes (9). The human obesity gene map reveals that loci affecting obesity related phenotypes are found on all human chromosomes except chromosome Y.
The potential implication of genetic factors in the development of obesity is well demonstrated by the description of monogenic forms of human obesity. The genes implicated in these forms of obesity are summarized in Table 2. MC4R mutations are the most frequent cause of monogenic human obesity, occurring in up to 4% of early-onset and severe childhood obesity (10,11).
Homozygous mutations of the leptin-melanocortin genes are often associated with other features, e.g. hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in leptin deficiency and red hair and hypocortisolism in POMC deficiency.
Genetic Syndromes associated with obesity include Prader-Willi, Bardet-Biedl, Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy, Alstrom, Borjeson-Forssman-Lehmann, Cohen, Beckwith-Wiedemann, Carpenter Syndrome.

TABLE 2