Weighted Burden Analysis of Rare Genetic Variants Identifies Novel Genes with Effects on BMI

The biological mechanisms whereby the novel genes might affect BMI are not clear, although impairment of ATP8B2 might possibly have an effect on insulin secretion. Functional studies might throw further light on how these genes are involved in regulation of body weight. Collectively, the identified variants are very rare and do not make a major contribution to variation in BMI in the population. This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource.