Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26627093›Full record

ReviewCurrent obesity reports2015

The 'Fat Mass and Obesity Related' (FTO) gene: Mechanisms of Impact on Obesity and Energy Balance.

John R Speakman

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Current obesity reports, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
83citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
8.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

83 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 172 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Hypothalamic wars: the last nanodelivery.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2026
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
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  11. The Role of Exercise in Fat Oxidation and Its Impact on Adolescent Metabolism.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
  12. Comprehensive SNP-based evaluation of fat mass and obesity-associated geneJournal of diabetes and metabolic disorders · 2025
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
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  17. Review
  18. Article
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23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 2 countries.

John R SpeakmanInstitute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Beichen xilu, Chaoyang, Beijing, China. J.speakman@abdn.ac.uk.
Chinese Academy of Sciences · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A cluster of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the first intron of the fat mass and obesity related (FTO) gene were the first common variants discovered to be associated with body mass index and body fatness. This review summarises what has been later discovered about the biology of FTO drawing together information from both human and animal studies. Subsequent work showed that the 'at risk' alleles of these SNPs are associated with greater food intake and increased hunger/lowered satiety, but are not associated with altered resting energy expenditure or low physical activity in humans. FTO is an FE (II) and 2-oxoglutarate dependent DNA/RNA methylase. Contrasting the impact of the SNPs on energy balance in humans, knocking out or reducing activity of the Fto gene in the mouse resulted in lowered adiposity, elevated energy expenditure with no impact on food intake (but the impact on expenditure is disputed). In contrast, overexpression of the gene in mice led to elevated food intake and adiposity, with no impact on expenditure. In rodents, the Fto gene is widely expressed in the brain including hypothalamic nuclei linked to food intake regulation. Since its activity is 2-oxoglutarate dependent it could potentially act as a sensor of citrate acid cycle flux, but this function has been dismissed, and instead it has been suggested to be much more likely to act as an amino acid sensor, linking circulating AAs to the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1. This may be fundamental to its role in development but the link to obesity is less clear. It has been recently suggested that although the obesity related SNPs reside in the first intron of FTO, they may not only impact FTO but mediate their obesity effects via nearby genes (notably RPGRIP1L and IRX3).

Indexed as

Polymorphism, Single NucleotideAdipose TissueAlpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTOAmino AcidsAnimalsBrainEatingEnergy IntakeEnergy MetabolismHumansObesityProteinsAlpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTOAmino AcidsFTO protein, humanProteins2-oxoglutarateAdiposityAmino acid sensorBMIBody compositionDemethylationDNAEnergy expenditureFatnessFood intakeFTMFTOGhrelinGWASHypothalamusIRX3LeptinMacronutrient intakemTORObesityPhysical activityProtein intakeRNARPGRIP1L

Identifiers

PMID26627093
OpenAlexW2079660217

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.