title: Findings from the Quebec Family Study on the Etiology of Obesity: Genetics and Environmental Highlights.
abstract: The Quebec Family Study (QFS) was an observational study with three cycles of data collection between 1979 and 2002 in Quebec City, Canada. The cohort is a mixture of random sampling and ascertainment through obese individuals. The study has significantly contributed to our understanding of the determinants of obesity and associated disease risk over the past 35 years. In particular, the QFS cohort was used to investigate the contribution of familial resemblance and genetic effects on body fatness and behaviors related to energy balance. Significant familial aggregation and genetic heritability were reported for total adiposity, fat-free mass, subcutaneous fat distribution, abdominal and visceral fat, resting metabolic rate, physical activity level and other behavioral traits. The resources of QFS were also used to study the contribution of several nontraditional (non-caloric) risk factors as predictors of excess body weight and gains in weight and adiposity over time, including low calcium and micronutrient intake, high disinhibition eating behavior trait, and short sleep duration. An important finding relates to the interactions between dietary macronutrient intake and exercise intensity on body mass and adiposity.
authors.affiliation: Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1 Canada.
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Chaput
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, 2300 de la Terrasse, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6 Canada.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pérusse
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, 2300 de la Terrasse, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6 Canada ; Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Hôpital Laval, 2725 Chemin Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, QC G1V 4G5 Canada.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Després
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, 2300 de la Terrasse, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6 Canada.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.affiliation: Human Genomics Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4124 USA.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bouchard
keywords: Calcium; Cohort; Diet; Eating behavior; Environment; Genes; Longitudinal study; Nutrition; Obesity; Observational study; Physical activity; Quebec Family Study; Sleep