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Project Grow-2-Gether: A Study of the Genetic and Environmental Influences on Child Eating and Obesity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Myles S. Faith*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USAfaith@mail.med.upenn.edu
Kathleen L. Keller
Affiliation:
NY Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, USA
Patty Matz
Affiliation:
Weill Medical College, Cornell University
Susan L. Johnson
Affiliation:
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Department of Pediatrics,The Children’s Hospital of Denver, USA
Rebecca Lewis
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA
Marie Alexandra Jorge
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA
Clare Ridley
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA
Helen Han
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA
Shoshanna Must
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA
Moonseong Heo
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, USA
Angelo Pietrobelli
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA; Pediatric Unit, Verona University Medical School, Verona, Italy
Steven B. Heymsfield
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA
David B. Allison
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Section on Statistical Genetics, Clinical Nutrition Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Weight and Eating Disorders Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3535 Market St, Third Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Abstract

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“Project Grow-2-Gether” is a child nutrition study of same-sex, 3- to 7-year-old monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs. The study attempts to bridge two bodies of literature that have rarely interfaced with respect to obesity and ingestive behavior: the first being behavioral genetic approaches to obesity-related traits, and the second being developmental approaches focusing on parent–child relationships. The overarching aim of Project Grow-2-Gether is to disentangle genetic from potential home-environmental influences on child eating behavior and body fat. This paper reviews the rationale for Project Grow-2-Gether, its procedures, and core phenotypic measurement battery. A focus of the study is acquisition of controlled food intake measurements obtained in the laboratory, measurement of specific home environmental variables, and multi-method evaluation of parent–child feeding relations. Future directions may involve longitudinal assessment of child growth and molecular analyses for specific genes that influence child eating behavior.

Type
Articles/United States of America
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002