The present invention relates to methods of using a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) to screen one or more candidate compounds as a modulator of body mass or of adiposity or of percentage body fat in a subject or as a pharmaceutical agent for obesity and conditions related thereto. Inverse agonists and antagonists of the invention are useful as therapeutic agents for the prevention or treatment of obesity and conditions related thereto, including hypertension, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and stroke. Agonists and partial agonists of the invention are useful as therapeutic agents for the prevention or treatment of disorders ameliorated by increasing body mass including, but not limited to, cachexia.
