diet

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 […]

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 […]

Background: Guidelines promoting healthy lifestyles are cornerstones of chronic disease prevention and treatment. The purpose of this study is to investigate independent and joint associations of five key health behaviors with health outcomes (body mass index (BMI kg/m2) and depressive symptoms) in adult twins. Methods: We included 6,048 twin pairs from a community-based registry. Five […]

Background: Neuroimaging studies suggest that appetitive drive is enhanced in obesity. Objective: To test if appetitive drive varies in direct proportion to the level of body adiposity after accounting for genetic factors that contribute to both brain response and obesity risk. Subjects/Methods: Participants were adult monozygotic (n=54) and dizygotic (n=30) twins with at least one […]

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and eating disorders (ED) frequently co-occur, but the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. EDs are characterized by features of maladaptive eating behaviors including disinhibited eating and cognitive dietary restraint. Identifying the genetic overlap between PTSD symptoms and maladaptive eating behaviors may elucidate biological mechanisms and potential treatment targets. A community […]

Background/objectives: The salience network (SN) comprises brain regions that evaluate cues in the external environment in light of internal signals. We examined the SN response to meal intake and potential genetic and acquired influences on SN function. Subjects/methods: Monozygotic (MZ; 40 pairs) and dizygotic (15 pairs) twins had body composition and plasma metabolic profile evaluated (glucose, insulin, […]

Background: Variants in the first intron of the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene increase obesity risk. People with “high-risk” FTO genotypes exhibit preference for high-fat foods, reduced satiety responsiveness, and greater food intake consistent with impaired satiety. Objective: We sought central nervous system mechanisms that might underlie impaired satiety perception in people with a higher risk […]

Purpose of review: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using visual food cues provides insight into brain regulation of appetite in humans. This review sought evidence for genetic determinants of these responses. Recent findings: Echoing behavioral studies of food cue responsiveness, twin study approaches detect significant inherited influences on brain response to food cues. Both polygenic (whole genome) […]

Background: Neural responses to highly energetic food cues are robust and are suppressed by eating. It is not known if neural responsiveness to food cues is an inherited trait and possibly even one that mediates the genetic influences on body weight that have been previously observed. Objective: We investigated the inherited influence on brain responses to high-calorie […]

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 […]