Obesity

More than 40 percent of American adults — and nearly 20 percent of American children — are considered obese. There are many reasons why some people become obese while others remain lean, why fat is stored in different parts of their bodies, and how a person's distribution of fat affects their risk of chronic disease, but both genetic and environmental factors play crucial roles.

Researchers at Broad are exploring the biology and impacts of obesity from a variety of angles. By employing a wide range of sequencing, functional, imaging, computational, and chemical technologies together with massive collections of human genetic and health data, Broad scientists are teasing apart the complex collection of states and circuits that regulate cells' storage and use of fat, linking genetics to cellular mechanisms to specific cells, tissues, and organs. That knowledge informs how we think about the relationships between obesity, metabolism, and disease, and accelerates the discovery of new targets for therapeutic development.