Genes play major role in child obesity

This news item was added on 14th February 2008

A new study has found that nature is more important than nurture for determining whether a child will be obese.

British researchers looked at more than 5,000 pairs of twins in order to discover the role of genes in determining susceptibility to weight gain.

They found that 77 per cent of variation in children's body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference was due to genes, while 23 per cent was due to the youngsters' environment.

The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Lead author Professor Jane Wardle, director of Cancer Research UK's health behaviour research centre, commented: "These results do not mean that a child with a high complement of 'susceptibility genes' will inevitably become overweight, but that their genetic endowment gives them a stronger predisposition.

"In today's environment - which provides unprecedented opportunities for all children to overeat and be sedentary - it is not surprising these tendencies result in weight gain."