title: Inherited behavioral susceptibility to adiposity in infancy: a multivariate genetic analysis of appetite and weight in the Gemini birth cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The behavioral susceptibility model proposes that inherited differences in traits such as appetite confer differential risk of weight gain and contribute to the heritability of weight. Evidence that the FTO gene may influence weight partly through its effects on appetite supports this model, but testing the behavioral pathways for multiple genes with very small effects is not feasible. Twin analyses make it possible to get a broad-based estimate of the extent of shared genetic influence between appetite and weight.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to use multivariate twin analyses to test the hypothesis that associations between appetite and weight are underpinned by shared genetic effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were from Gemini, a population-based birth cohort of twins (n = 4804) born in 2007. Infant weights at 3 mo were taken from the records of health professionals. Appetite was assessed at 3 mo for the milk-feeding period by using the Baby Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (BEBQ), a parent-reported measure of appetite [enjoyment of food, food responsiveness, slowness in eating (SE), satiety responsiveness (SR), and appetite size (AS)]. Multivariate quantitative genetic modeling was used to test for shared genetic influences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant correlations were found between all BEBQ traits and weight. Significant shared genetic influence was identified for weight with SE, SR, and AS; genetic correlations were between 0.22 and 0.37. Shared genetic effects explained 41-45% of these phenotypic associations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Differences in weight in infancy may be due partly to genetically determined differences in appetitive traits that confer differential susceptibility to obesogenic environments.
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Clare H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Llewellyn
authors.forename: Cornelia H M
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: van Jaarsveld
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Plomin
authors.forename: Abigail
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wardle
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000235:genetics*; D001066:Appetite / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010641:Phenotype; D012527:Satiation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014427:Twins / Q000235:genetics; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000235:genetics*