12 Aug 2025
Professor Yeo recently identified a genetic mutation contributing to obesity in Labrador retrievers.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Professor Giles Yeo to headline in the BVA Congress Theatre at London Vet Show.
A renowned Cambridge professor, author and broadcaster will headline the BVA Congress offering at this year’s London Vet Show with a talk on obesity.
Giles Yeo, professor of molecular neuroendocrinology at the University of Cambridge, will deliver the illustrious Wooldridge Memorial Lecture in the BVA Congress Theatre from 11am to 12:15pm on Friday 21 November.
“The genetics of obesity: Can an old dog teach us new tricks?” will focus on the “leptin-melanocortin pathway” and the role it plays in canine and human obesity, its conservation through evolution, and the evidence that genetics play a role in determining body weight.
Professor Yeo said: “Differences in our genetic make-up mean some of us are slightly more hungry all the time and so eat more than others.
“I will highlight the fat-sensing ‘leptin-melanocortin’ pathway, as a key appetite control circuit.
“Not only is the pathway conserved in all mammals and many higher vertebrates, but genetic disruption of the pathway as an evolutionary strategy to influence feeding behaviour has also been conserved.”
He added: “In contrast to the prevailing view, obesity is not a choice. People who are obese are not bad or lazy; rather, they are fighting their biology.”
As part of his work at the university’s Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit and as scientific director of its Genomics/Transcriptomics Core, Prof Yeo and colleagues recently identified a genetic mutation in Labrador retrievers that significantly increases the breed’s propensity for obesity and food motivation.
The mutation – found to be present in approximately a quarter of Labradors and two-thirds of flat-coated retrievers – in the proopiomelanocortin gene disrupts the production of hormones that regulate appetite and energy balance.
Prof Yeo has authored two books on obesity, Gene Eating: The Story Of Human Appetite and Why Calories Don’t Count, hosts a podcast on the subject – Dr Giles Yeo Chews The Fat – and he has appeared on BBC programmes including Horizon and Trust Me, I’m a Doctor.
BVA president Elizabeth Mullineaux said: “I’m delighted that we can offer him this opportunity to share the results and ramifications of his ground-breaking research with the veterinary audience.
“I’m sure our BVA Congress delegates will appreciate both Dr Yeo’s scientific knowledge and his dynamic delivery style and I’m personally looking forward to learning more about this exciting topic.”
Named posthumously after veterinary politician and researcher W.R. Wooldridge, the Wooldridge Memorial Lecture was first held in 1967, the year following his death.
Past speakers have included the Princess Royal (1992), chief scientific adviser Sir Robert May (1999), and bestselling author and animal behaviourist John Bradshaw (2015).
Last year’s lecture was delivered by leading conservationist Dave Goulson on the role vets play in companion animal parasiticides and biodiversity, while in 2023 eminent researcher Susan Michie held a presentation on how changing human behaviour can improve animal welfare.
