In humans, inflammatory cytokines and hormones play a role in metabolic disorders, making the study of obesity-related inflammation complex, thus we the availability of a simple and genetically modifiable animal model such as Drosophila could allow for a better understanding of the role of Eiger/TNFα and other conserved cytokines in these metabolic diseases. Here, TNF is linked to obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.