A new study has characterized genes and variants that underlie abdominal obesity. The researchers determined regulatory properties of candidate genetic variants and demonstrated the sex-specific effects of the gene SNX10 on fat cell differentiation and diet-induced obesity in a mouse model. The researchers showed that control mice of both sexes with functional SNX10 gained weight when fed a high-fat diet, but when fat cells lacked SNX10, female mice did not gain weight on a high-fat diet.