The PRIMARY goal of this study is to investigate the association of perilipin gene polymorphisms, with obese subjects who are "resistant" to weight loss in a defined program.
The SECONDARY goal of this study is to investigate if additional candidate obesity genes that have previously been associated with obesity or energy metabolism show association with resistance to weight loss in subjects on an energy restricted diet. Additionally, we would like to investigate if any metabolic syndrome parameters, such as dyslipidemia or abnormal fasting glucose are associated with perilipin or variations in other obesity-related genes.
