More than 20% of Russians are predisposed to obesity

The risk of gaining excess weight in people with mutations in two genes that are most often associated with the process of obesity — FTO and MC4R in Russians is approximately 22%, the National Center for Genetic Research told Izvestia.

"The FTO gene is responsible for hunger and satiety stimuli. It encodes an enzyme involved in the regulation of energy metabolism. The increased activity of this enzyme is associated with increased food intake, as well as a tendency to overeat," the geneticists noted.

Also, according to them, this gene is associated with the risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

And the MC4R gene encodes a receptor, a key mechanism for controlling eating behavior, they added.

"Loss or decrease of receptor function leads to increased appetite, preference for high-calorie foods and weight gain," the scientists emphasized.

According to the National Center for Genetic Research, approximately 17.5% of Russians have obesity—causing mutations in the FTO gene and about 5% more in the MC4R gene.

Related: more than 20% of Russians are predisposed to obesity

Scientists have studied mutations in two genes responsible for the development of this disease.

The highest prevalence of overweight and obesity, according to the Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Biotechnology, is in the Tambov, Tver and Tula regions. And according to the Research Institute of Functional Nutrition, Sevastopol was the leader in the number of overweight residents as of December 2024. It is followed by the Kaliningrad Region, Chukotka, Tuva and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article: Related: more than 20% of Russians are predisposed to obesity