A child’s insatiable appetite is linked to a single genetic mutation

Since infancy, she showed a constant desire for food. Throughout childhood, she was continually hungry except after eating very large meals.

By the age of 12, her body mass index was 47.6 and she underwent bariatric surgery.

Now, researchers have discovered a new genetic mechanism that likely explains her condition as a form of monogenic obesity, a rare type of severe obesity that starts at a young age and is caused by a defect in a single gene.

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