Led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, the study focuses on Labrador dogs but uses genomic resources to show the same genes are relevant to human obesity. Dogs, like humans, are experiencing an obesity ‘epidemic’ and could similarly benefit from more understanding of the role of genetics in obesity.
About 40% of adult humans and 50% of pet dogs are overweight or obese. Dogs develop obesity through similar environmental influences as humans, and their genes can be more easily linked to disease due to low genetic diversity within breeds.