Obesity has always borne the risk of diabetes. Obese people may be a t a higher risk of having diabetes than non-obese people. A study by UT Southwestern Medical Center of US suggests that the higher risk of diabetes associated with obesity do have a genetic component.

The study had evaluated the role played by ENPP1 K121Q polymorphism in predicting diabetes type II in people. The study was conducted on 679 South Asians residing in Chennai, 1083 South Asians living in Dallas, Texas and 858 Caucasians living in Dallas, Texas. While 25% of the people in Chennai belonging to the non-diabetic group were carrying the gene polymorphic ENPP1 121Q allele, 34% of the diabetics in Chennai had the same gene. For the subjects in Dallas, the prevalence of the gene in the non-diabetic group was 33% as against 45% of the diabetic group.

The researchers are of the opinion that still more studies are required to establish the relationship between the physical characteristics or phenotype and the genetic composition or the genotype. Yet, the researchers are certain that the study supports the assumption that gene ENPP1 121Q may increase the susceptibility of people to type II diabetes.