However, a study comparing obesity-related genes in Zucker diabetic fatty rats to those of its lean normoglycaemic counterpart showed that SEC16B was one of the only obesity-risk variants (of those tested) that was not expressed in the hypothalamus, but rather in subcutaneous adipose tissue, implying a more peripheral role in the regulation of obesity37. This evidence concerns the gene SEC16B and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.