Much evidence, through the study of genes strongly involved in the central or peripheral regulation of energy balance, including variants in leptin (LEP), leptin receptor (LEPR), proopiomelanocortin (POMC), neuropeptide Y (NPY), melanocortin receptor (MC4R), and the gene associated with fat mass and obesity (FTO), suggests a genetic component, contributing to 40–70% of obesity. This evidence concerns the gene MC4R and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.