Testing for family influences on obesity: The role of genetic nurture

John Cawley1, Euna Han2, Jiyoon Kim3

  • 1Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University and NBER, Ithaca, New York.

Health Economics
|June 26, 2019
PubMed

Related Concept Videos

Nature and Nurture01:10

Nature and Nurture

Many human characteristics, like height, are shaped by both nature—in other words, by our genes—and by nurture, or our environment. For example, chronic stress during childhood inhibits the production of growth hormones and consequently reduces bone growth and height. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of variation in height is due to genetic differences among individuals, and 10-30% of variation in height is due to differences in the environments that individuals experience,...
22.2K
Protein Families02:47

Protein Families

Protein families are groups of homologous proteins; that is, they have similarities in amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures. Protein families usually occur because of gene duplication, where an additional copy of a gene is inserted into the genome of an organism.   Mutations that change the amino acids but still allow the protein to be properly synthesized, will lead to new protein family members.   If these new proteins contain similar amino acids in key...
16.7K
Protein Families02:47

Protein Families

4.3K
Gene Families01:57

Gene Families

Gene families consist of groups of genes proposed to have originated from a common ancestor. Typically these arise through events in which a gene or genes are mistakenly duplicated during cell division. Unlike their parent genes (which are subject to selection pressure to maintain function), these gene copies do not need to preserve their sequences and may evolve at a relatively faster rate.
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
9.8K
Gene Families01:57

Gene Families

3.6K
Obesity01:24

Obesity

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a numerical value derived from a person's weight and height, used to categorize individuals into weight ranges. It is calculated using the formula: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Obesity is a health condition characterized by excessive accumulation of adipose tissue that poses health risks, often diagnosed with a BMI ≥ 30. This excess fat storage occurs when surplus dietary calories are converted into triglycerides and stored in...
1.2K