ADIPOQ and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: Some clinical studies have shown that low adiponectin concentrations are associated with obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and coronary artery disease and high plasma adiponectin levels are independently associated with a reduced risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) [4–6], whereas others reported opposite results or lack of associations [7, 8].