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Assortative mating for obesity.

John R Speakman1, Kurosh Djafarian, Joanne Stewart

  • 1Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity, Division of Obesity and Metabolic Health, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. j.speakman@abdn.ac.uk

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|August 9, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Assortative mating for obesity is confirmed using advanced body composition analysis. This pairing based on body type may contribute to the growing obesity epidemic by influencing partner selection earlier in life.

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Area of Science:

  • Human genetics
  • Obesity research
  • Reproductive biology

Background:

  • Assortative mating, the nonrandom pairing of individuals based on phenotypes, is studied for its role in obesity.
  • Previous research linked assortative mating to the obesity epidemic but used less precise obesity measures.
  • Confounding factors were not always adequately addressed in prior studies on obesity and mating.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate assortative mating for obesity using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for detailed body composition analysis.
  • To move beyond traditional obesity metrics like BMI and skinfold thickness.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 42 couples.
  • Utilized dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to measure body composition, including fat mass and lean mass.
  • Analyzed spousal correlations for various body composition traits, adjusting for age and social factors.

Main Results:

  • Significant assortative mating was observed for age, weight, body mass index, lean mass, and fat mass.
  • The correlation for fat mass remained strong (r = 0.405) after accounting for age.
  • Regional analysis revealed assortative mating for specific body fat and lean mass distributions, such as disproportionately large arms.

Conclusions:

  • Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry confirms assortative mating for obesity (adiposity).
  • The study hypothesizes that assortative mating contributes to the obesity epidemic.
  • Earlier onset of obesity may facilitate partner selection based on body phenotypes in younger adults.