Studies of Twins Indicate That Genetics Influence Dietary Intake

Studies of twins indicate that genetics influence dietary intake.

Habitual dietary intake is a complex behavior that may have both biological and nonbiological bases. We estimated the contribution of genetic and environmental influences on dietary intake in a large population-based sample of healthy twins. Data originated from a cross-sectional study of 600 male and female healthy twin pairs with self-reported food consumption frequency using a validated ques...

Genetics studies indicate that neural induction and early neuronal maturation are disturbed in autism

Postmortem neuropathological studies of autism consistently reveal distinctive types of malformations, including cortical dysplasias, heterotopias, and various neuronomorphometric abnormalities. In keeping with these observations, we review here that 88% of high-risk genes for autism influence neural induction and early maturation of the neuroblast. In addition, 80% of these same genes influenc...

Dietary intake of young twins: nature or nurture?123

BACKGROUND The early years in life are increasingly recognized as a critical period for the development of diet-related behavioral traits. However, discussions continue on the relative role of genes and the environment in determining dietary intake, particularly in young children for whom detailed dietary information is limited. OBJECTIVES This study tested the hypothesis that diet in early c...

Physical activity and dietary intake in BMI discordant identical twins.

OBJECTIVE Despite the latest discovery of obesity-associated genes, the rapid rise in global obesity suggests a major role for environmental factors. This study investigated the influence of environmental factors on physical activity and dietary intake independent of genetic effects. METHODS Sixteen female monozygotic twins aged 48.8 ± 9.8 years (range 37-70) with a mean BMI discordance of 3....

Dietary salt intake and epidemiological studies.