Cooke, L;
Llewellyn, CH;
(2015)
Nature and nurture in early feeding behaviour.
Nestle
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Abstract
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions and research into prevention is increasingly focusing on the earliest stages of life. Avidity of appetite has been linked to a higher risk of obesity, but studies in infancy were scarce. The Gemini twin cohort was established to investigate genetic and environmental determinants of weight trajectories in early childhood with a focus on appetite and the home environment. Gemini families have been supplying questionnaire data at regular intervals, starting when the twins were 8 months old. Analyses of data on infant appetite and weight have provided a number of important findings. Firstly, a prospective study found that appetite in infancy drives weight gain more strongly than weight drives appetite, although the two processes do co-exist. A further study using a subsample of twins discordant for appetite ruled out the possibility of familial confounding, suggesting a causal role for appetite in weight. Heritability estimates for appetitive traits were moderate to high (53% - 84%). Finally, multivariate analyses indicated that roughly one third of the genes related to weight are also related to appetite and vice versa. Environmental factors affecting appetite in infancy are under-studied, but some potential strategies for minimizing the risks of over or under-consumption in at-risk individuals are suggested.
| Type: | Report |
|---|---|
| Title: | Nature and nurture in early feeding behaviour |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1479962 |
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