rs16953002

A SNP in the FTO gene on chromosome 16. Its most notable genotype is A;A: 1.32x increased risk of melanoma in those with low BMI

Gene
FTO
Location
Chr 1654,080,912 (GRCh38)
Highest magnitude
1.5Minor
Tested on
23andMe, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA
Minor allele frequency
21%

Genotypes

As shown in 23andMe and AncestryDNA files.

  1. A;AMost notableBad1.32x increased risk of melanoma in those with low BMIMinor · 1.55% of people
  2. A;GBad1.16x increased risk of melanoma in indiiduals with low BMIMinor · 1.232% of people
  3. G;GGoodSlightly lower risk of melanoma in individuals with low BMIMinor · 1.064% of people

On SNPedia: (A;A), (A;G), (G;G). Magnitude rates how notable a genotype is from 0 to 10, not how risky it is.

Frequency

Share of each genotype in 11 HapMap populations.

  • AverageA;A 5% A;G 32% G;G 64%
  • European ancestry (Utah)A;A 2% A;G 25% G;G 74%
  • Han Chinese (Beijing)A;A 11% A;G 47% G;G 42%
  • Japanese (Tokyo)A;A 6% A;G 41% G;G 53%
  • Yoruba (Nigeria)A;A 5% A;G 29% G;G 67%
  • African ancestry (Southwest US)A;A 7% A;G 37% G;G 56%
  • Chinese (Denver)A;A 11% A;G 47% G;G 42%
  • Gujarati IndianA;A 5% A;G 30% G;G 65%
  • Luhya (Kenya)A;A 0% A;G 20% G;G 80%
  • Mexican ancestry (Los Angeles)A;A 0% A;G 16% G;G 85%
  • Maasai (Kenya)A;A 2% A;G 27% G;G 71%
  • TuscanA;A 3% A;G 32% G;G 65%

Other FTO SNPs

All FTO SNPs

Notes

From SNPedia

Show notes, about 230 words

A;A

Highly significant, replicated studies, p=3.6e-12. Appears to represent a greater risk in those with low BMI, which is plausible due to the known role of FTO in obesity. This SNP is in intron 8, whereas BMI SNP's are usually in intron 1. The association was much stronger for those in the lowest quartile of BMI (1.66 per allele risk) vs those in the other 3 quartiles (1.03 per allele risk - no longer statistically significant).

A;G

Highly significant, replicated studies, p=3.6e-12. Appears to represent a greater risk in those with low BMI, which is plausible due to the known role of FTO in obesity. This SNP is in intron 8, whereas BMI SNP's are usually in intron 1. The association was much stronger for those in the lowest quartile of BMI (1.66 per allele risk) vs those in the other 3 quartiles (1.03 per allele risk - no longer statistically significant).

G;G

Highly significant, replicated studies, p=3.6e-12. Risk allele A appears to represent a greater risk in those with low BMI, which is plausible due to the known role of FTO in obesity. This SNP is in intron 8, whereas BMI SNP's are usually in intron 1. The association was much stronger for those in the lowest quartile of BMI (1.66 per A allele risk) vs those in the other 3 quartiles (1.03 per A allele risk - no longer statistically significant). Risk for those in higher 3 quartiles of BMI is likely not substantially affected.

Source and license

Adapted from rs16953002 on SNPedia, using a snapshot taken October 16, 2026. SNPedia content is shared under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US, and this page is shared under the same license.

SNPedia is a community-edited wiki. Its entries can be incomplete, out of date or wrong, and nothing here is a diagnosis or medical advice. Magnitude is a community rating of how interesting a genotype is, not a risk score.