As shown in Fig. 1, the phosphorylation levels of ATM (Fig. 1a) and ATR (Fig. 1b), as well as those of their recognized downstream effectors, histone H2AX (Fig. 1c) and KAP1 (Fig. 1d), were significantly higher in the VAT biopsies of subjects affected by obesity compared to NW individuals. Here, ATR is linked to obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.