@article{7938d25bf05a405584cda7441b23782a,
title = "Gender and genetic contributions to weight identity among adolescents and young adults in the U.S.",
abstract = "In this paper, we investigate the possibility that genetic variation contributes to self-perceived weight status among adolescents and young adults in the U.S. Using samples of identical and fraternal twins across four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) study, we calculate heritability estimates for objective body mass index (BMI) that are in line with previous estimates. We also show that perceived weight status is heritable (h2 ∼ 0.47) and most importantly that this trait continues to be heritable above and beyond objective BMI (h2 ∼ 0.25). We then demonstrate significant sex differences in the heritability of weight identity across the four waves of the study, where h2women = 0.39, 0.35, 0.40, and 0.50 for each wave, respectively, and h2men = 0.10, 0.10, 0.23, and 0.03. These results call for a deeper consideration of both identity and gender in genetics research.",
keywords = "Body mass index, Gender, Heritability, Self-perceived weight status, United States, Weight identity",
author = "Robbee Wedow and Briley, {Daniel A.} and Short, {Susan E.} and Boardman, {Jason D.}",
note = "We gratefully acknowledge that this research was supported, in part by a grant from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( NIH/NICHD R01HD061622 ), from the NICHD supported University of Colorado Population Center ( R24 HD066613 ), and Wedow was generously supported by the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program ( DGE 1144083 ). Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This research uses data from Add Health, a program project directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and funded by grant P01- HD31921 from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations. Special acknowledgment is due to Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Information on how to obtain the Add Health data files is available here: http://www.cpc.unc.edu/addhealth . No direct support was received from grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis.",
year = "2016",
month = sep,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.044",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "165",
pages = "99--107",
journal = "Social Science and Medicine",
issn = "0277-9536",
publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",
}