Polygenic Risk, Rapid Childhood Growth, and the Development of Obesity

Abstract

To test how genomic loci identified in genome-wide association studies influence the development of obesity. Body mass index growth curves, developmental phenotypes of obesity, and adult obesity outcomes were defined from anthropometric asying multiple single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with a higher adult body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared).1 O Author Affiliations are listed at the end of this article. The next step is to understand how these SNPs influence the development of obesity. Individual differences in obesity risk emerge during gestation and are further established during infancy and childhood through accelerated growth trajectories.2,3 sessments at birth and at 12 subsequent in-person interviews through 38 years of age.