In view of these developments, the discovery of novel selective PPARγ agonists with partial binding properties would be advantageous not only as candidates for the treatment of type II diabetes, but also as chemical probes to investigate the function of PPARγ, as new roles for it are currently being identified, e.g. as anti-obesity drug target [8]. This evidence concerns the gene PPARG and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.