Although height may influence the association, since it associates negatively with liver fat content but not with visceral fat mass [37], our observation supports the role of visceral fat in HDL metabolism in obesity and the concept that low HDL-C in obesity may be associated with apoA-I degradation and impaired cholesterol efflux from lipoprotein and cellular sources [38]. The gene discussed is APOA1; the disease is obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.