Does a heritable common latent factor explain body mass index, percent body fat, and waist circumference across childhood?

ABSTRACT:

Background/objectives

Empirical data consistently suggest high heritability estimates for adiposity, with heritability peaking during childhood. However, no study has considered the potentially shared genetic and environmental etiologies of the three most commonly used adiposity metrics - body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and percent body fat. We examined the genetic and environmental contributions to BMI, percent body fat, and waist circumference, and the extent to which their genetic and environmental variances overlap during middle childhood.

Subjects/methods

We examined the genetic and environmental contributions to BMI, percent body fat, and waist circumference in a community sample of twin children (N = 254-326 pairs; female=47.8-49.9%; Non-Hispanic White=51.

SUBMITTER: Bartsch EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12517261 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature