Mar

30

William Saletan: Is genetics or lifestyle a bigger factor in obesity? - Dallas Morning News- Childhood Obesity News

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By comparing the results between identical twins (who share all their genes) and fraternal twins (who share half), the authors calculated that BMI in the sample was 77 percent heritable. Of the remainder, “shared environment” (growing up in the same household) accounted for 10 percent, and “non-shared environment” (for example, being the eldest kid instead of the youngest) accounted for 13 percent. After all, siblings with the same parents, being served the same food and being given the same options for exercise doesn’t make them any more similar in BMI than would be expected from their genetic similarity. As the authors point out, “the dramatic rise in childhood obesity in the past 15 years is clearly due to changes in the environment, because genes have not altered. Read Childhood Obesity

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