Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:1003-1008
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
Genetic contributions to human fatness: an adoption study
RA Price, RJ Cadoret, AJ Stunkard and E Troughton
A strong relationship was found between the degree of fatness of biologic
mothers and that of their adult offspring who had been separated from their
mothers at birth and adopted during the first year of life. This
relationship persisted even after age, height, and possible confounding
environmental factors were controlled. There was little evidence for either
selective placement on the basis of parental fatness or gene-environment
interaction. There was no relationship between the degree of fatness of
adoptive parents and that of the adoptees. Two indexes of environmental
influence--rural upbringing and disturbance in the adoptive home--predicted
fatness among adoptees.
