Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-3360, USA.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2012 Apr;36(4):479-84. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2011.236. Epub 2011 Dec 13.
The increasing prevalence of pediatric obesity around the world has become an area of scientific interest because of public health concern. Although since early stages of the lifespan body weight might be heavily influenced by an individual's behavior, epidemiological research highlights the involvement of genetic influences contributing to variation in fat accumulation and thus body composition. Results from genome-wide association studies and candidate gene approaches have identified specific regions across the human genome influencing obesity-related phenotypes. Reviewing the scientific literature provides support to the belief that at the conceptual level scientists understand that genes and environments do not act independently, but rather synergistically, and that such interaction might be the responsible factor for differences within and among populations. However, there is still limited understanding of genetic and environmental factors influencing fat accumulation and deposition among different populations, which highlights the need for innovative experimental designs, improved body composition measures and appropriate statistical methodology.
由于公众健康的关注，儿童肥胖症在全球的日益流行已经成为一个科学研究领域。尽管在生命早期阶段，体重可能受到个体行为的强烈影响，但流行病学研究强调了遗传影响在脂肪积累和身体成分变化中的作用。全基因组关联研究和候选基因方法的结果已经确定了影响肥胖相关表型的人类基因组中特定区域。对科学文献的回顾为以下观点提供了支持，即从概念上讲，科学家们认为基因和环境不是独立作用，而是协同作用的，这种相互作用可能是造成不同人群内部和之间差异的原因。然而，对于影响不同人群脂肪积累和沉积的遗传和环境因素的理解仍然有限，这突出表明需要创新的实验设计、改进的身体成分测量方法和适当的统计方法。
