bmi

We examined relationships between walkability and health behaviors between and within identical twin pairs, considering both home (neighborhood) walkability and each twin’s measured activity space. Continuous activity and location data (via accelerometry and GPS) were obtained in 79 pairs over 2 weeks. Walkability was estimated using Walk Score® (WS); home WS refers to neighborhood walkability, and […]

An epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) was performed on buccal cells from monozygotic-twins (MZ) reared together as children, but who live apart as adults. Cohorts of twin pairs were used to investigate associations between neighborhood walkability and objectively measured physical activity (PA) levels. Due to dramatic cellular epigenetic sex differences, male and female MZ twin pairs […]

Background: Body mass index (BMI) shows strong continuity over childhood and adolescence and high childhood BMI is the strongest predictor of adult obesity. Genetic factors strongly contribute to this continuity, but it is still poorly known how their contribution changes over childhood and adolescence. Thus, we used the genetic twin design to estimate the genetic correlations […]

Background Context: LBP is a common and significant cause of disability worldwide, however; questions about cause still remain. Purpose: To investigate the association between low back pain (LBP), body mass index (BMI), and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a twin sample. Study Design: Cross sectional study of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins […]

Background: Body Mass Index (BMI), like most human phenotypes, is substantially heritable. However, BMI is not normally distributed; the skew appears to be structural, and increases as a function of age. Moreover, twin correlations for BMI commonly violate the assumptions of the most common variety of the classical twin model, with the MZ twin correlation greater […]

Background: Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soda, have been shown to play an important role in weight gain. Although soda consumption has been associated with body mass index (BMI) in many studies, it has been difficult to ascertain a true causal relationship between soda consumption and BMI for two reasons. First, findings have been based […]

Background: Genes and the environment contribute to variation in adult body mass index [BMI (in kg/m2)], but factors modifying these variance components are poorly understood. Objective: We analyzed genetic and environmental variation in BMI between men and women from young adulthood to old age from the 1940s to the 2000s and between cultural-geographic regions representing high (North […]

Background: The comparison of traits in twins from opposite-sex (OS) and same-sex (SS) dizygotic twin pairs is considered a proxy measure of prenatal hormone exposure. To examine possible prenatal hormonal influences on anthropometric traits, we compared mean height, body mass index (BMI), and the prevalence of being overweight or obese between men and women from OS […]

Background: Both genetic and environmental factors are known to affect body mass index (BMI), but detailed understanding of how their effects differ during childhood and adolescence is lacking. Objectives: We analyzed the genetic and environmental contributions to BMI variation from infancy to early adulthood and the ways they differ by sex and geographic regions representing high (North […]

Objective: To test the relationship of anxiety to caloric intake and food cue perception in women and men. Methods: Fifty-five twins (26 complete, 3 incomplete pairs; 51% women) underwent 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans (before and after a standardized meal) and then ate at an ad libitum buffet to objectively assess food intake. State and […]

Objective: Individual measures of socioeconomic status (SES) suppress genetic variance in body mass index (BMI). Our objective was to examine the influence of both individual-level (i.e., educational attainment, household income) and macrolevel (i.e., neighborhood socioeconomic advantage) SES indicators on genetic contributions to BMI. Method: The study used education level data from 4,162 monozygotic (MZ) and 1,900 dizygotic […]

A trend toward greater body size in dizygotic (DZ) than in monozygotic (MZ) twins has been suggested by some but not all studies, and this difference may also vary by age. We analyzed zygosity differences in mean values and variances of height and body mass index (BMI) among male and female twins from infancy to […]

Obesity is a substantial health problem in the United States, and is associated with many chronic diseases. Previous studies have linked poor dietary habits to obesity. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the association between body mass index (BMI) and fast-food consumption among 669 same-sex adult twin pairs residing in the Puget Sound region around […]

The Cohort Description of Collaborative Project of Development of Anthropometrical Measures in Twins to Study Macro-Environmental Variation in Genetic and Environmental Effects on Anthropometric Traits For over 100 years, the genetics of human anthropometric traits has attracted scientific interest. In particular, height and body mass index (BMI, calculated as kg/m2) have been under intensive genetic […]

Body mass index (BMI) has a strong genetic basis, with a heritability around 0.75, but is also influenced by numerous behavioral and environmental factors. Aspects of the built environment (e.g., environmental walkability) are hypothesized to influence obesity by directly affecting BMI, by facilitating or inhibiting behaviors such as physical activity that are related to BMI, […]

Objective: Physical activity, neighborhood walkability, and body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) associations were tested using quasi-experimental twin methods. We hypothesized that physical activity and walkability were independently associated with BMI within twin pairs, controlling for genetic and environmental background shared between them. Methods: Data were from 6376 (64% female; 58% identical) same-sex pairs, University of Washington Twin […]

Objective: Using a twin study design, we sought to determine whether an early age at dieting onset is a risk factor for higher adult body mass index (BMI) or use of risky dieting practices, independent of genetic and familial factors. Method: Female twins ages 18-60 years (N=950) from the University of Washington Twin Registry completed 2 surveys […]

Objective: This study examined if associations between body mass index (BMI) and mental and physical health were independent of genetic and familial factors. Method: Data from 2831 twins (66% female) were used in an epidemiological co-twin control design with measures of BMI and mental and physical health outcomes. Generalized estimating equation regressions assessed relationships between BMI and […]

Study objectives: To examine whether sleep duration modifies genetic and environmental influences on body mass index (BMI). Design: Genotype-environment interaction twin study. Setting: University of Washington Twin Registry. Patients or participants: A population-based sample of US twins (1,088 pairs, 604 monozygotic, 484 dizygotic; 66% female; mean age = 36.6 yr, standard deviation (SD) = 15.9 yr). Interventions: N/A. Measurements and […]

We investigated the association of restrained eating with BMI and weight gain while controlling for the influence of genes and shared environment. Participants were 1,587 twins enrolled in the University of Washington Twin Registry (UWTR). Restrained eating was assessed by the Herman and Polivy Restraint Scale. Height and weight were self-reported on two occasions. Analyses […]