title: Genetic and Environmental Effects on Weight, Height, and BMI Under 18 Years in a Chinese Population-Based Twin Sample.
abstract: This study examined the genetic and environmental effects on variances in weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) under 18 years in a population-based sample from China. We selected 6,644 monozygotic and 5,969 dizygotic twin pairs from the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR) aged under 18 years (n = 12,613). Classic twin analyses with sex limitation were used to estimate the genetic and environmental components of weight, height, and BMI in six age groups. Sex-limitation of genetic and shared environmental effects was observed, especially when puberty begins. Heritability for weight, height, and BMI was low at 0-2 years old (less than 20% for both sexes) but increased over time, accounting for half or more of the variance in the 15-17 year age group for boys. For girls, heritabilities for weight, height and BMI was maintained at approximately 30% after puberty. Common environmental effects on all body measures were high for girls (59-87%) and presented a small peak during puberty. Genetics appear to play an increasingly important role in explaining the variation in weight, height, and BMI from early childhood to late adolescence, particularly in boys. Common environmental factors exert their strongest and most independent influence specifically in the pre-adolescent period and more significantly in girls. These findings emphasize the need to target family and social environmental interventions in early childhood years, especially for females. Further studies about puberty-related genes and social environment are needed to clarify the mechanism of sex differences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,School of Public Health,Peking University,Beijing,China.
authors.forename: Qingqing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,School of Public Health,Peking University,Beijing,China.
authors.forename: Canqing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,School of Public Health,Peking University,Beijing,China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,School of Public Health,Peking University,Beijing,China.
authors.forename: Weihua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,School of Public Health,Peking University,Beijing,China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,School of Public Health,Peking University,Beijing,China.
authors.forename: Shengfeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Qingdao Center for Diseases Control and Prevention,Qingdao,China.
authors.forename: Zengchang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Hangzhou,China.
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cong
authors.affiliation: Department of Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing,China.
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Shanghai,China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Nanjing,China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Chengdu,China.
authors.forename: Xianping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention,Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Tianjin,China.
authors.forename: Guohong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health,Harbin Medical University,Harbin,China.
authors.forename: Binyou
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,School of Public Health,Peking University,Beijing,China.
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D001827:Body Height / Q000235:genetics*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic / Q000235:genetics*; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: BMI; height; heritability; twin study; weight