Obesity during childhood seems to increase the risk of subsequent morbidity, whether obesity persists into adulthood or not, with obese children being at an increased risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders later in life.10 Recent South African studies indicate that measures of overweight were positively associated with increased blood pressure,11 plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 activity, plasma fibrinogen and the thrombin–anti-thrombin complex,12 as well as higher fasting plasma insulin and leptin levels and insulin resistance. This evidence concerns the gene INS and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.