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Cited by 1,318Genetic Associations and EpidemiologyObesity, Physical Activity, DietGenetics and Physical Performance

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 31 of the 33 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

An Adoption Study of Human Obesity

Stunkard, Albert J., Sørensen, Thorkild I.A., Hanis, Craig, Teasdale, Thomas W., Chakraborty, Ranajit, Schull, William J., Schulsinger, Fini·1986·New England Journal of Medicine
DOI 10.1056/nejm198601233140401
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Abstract

We examined the contributions of genetic factors and the family environment to human fatness in a sample of 540 adult Danish adoptees who were selected from a population of 3580 and divided into four weight classes: thin, median weight, overweight, and obese. There was a strong relation between the weight class of the adoptees and the body-mass index of their biologic parents - for the mothers, P less than 0.0001; for the fathers, P less than 0.02. There was no relation between the weight class of the adoptees and the body-mass index of their adoptive parents. Cumulative distributions of the body-mass index of parents showed similar results; there was a strong relation between the body-mass index of biologic parents and adoptee weight class and no relation between the index of adoptive parents and adoptee weight class. Furthermore, the relation between biologic parents and adoptees was not confined to the obesity weight class, but was present across the whole range of body fatness - from very thin to very fat. We conclude that genetic influences have an important role in determining human fatness in adults, whereas the family environment alone has no apparent effect.

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Crossref · 10.1056/nejm198601233140401

Cites

31 of 31 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • A dominant role of genetic factors in obesity pathogenesis has been demonstrated in studies comparing concordance of body weight among fraternal versus identical twins and in studies of adults adopted as infants compared with their biological and adoptive parents.

    “A dominant role of genetic factors in obesity pathogenesis has also been demonstrated in studies comparing the concordance of body weight among fraternal versus identical twins91, for example, as well as studies of adults adopted as infants compared with their biological and adoptive parents77,92.”

    From Joint international consensus statement for ending stigma of obesity (2020) · cites this paper as [92]

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 33 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 9

  1. Medlund, 1976, Acta Med Scand [Suppl], 600, 1
  2. Withers, 1964, Eugen Rev, 56, 81
  3. Schlichting, 1981, Int J Obesity, 5, 67
  4. Sørensen, 1982, Int J Obesity, 7, 115
  5. Snedecor GW, Cochran WG. Statistical methods. 7th ed. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1980.
  6. Sclafani A. Dietary obesity. In: Stunkard AJ, ed. Obesity. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1980:166–81.
  7. Christensen, 1981, Hum Biol, 53, 403
  8. Mednick SA, Schulsinger F, Higgins J, Bell B, eds. Genetics, environment and psychopathology. New York: American Elsevier, 1974.
  9. Behrman RE, Vaughan VC III, eds. Nelson textbook of pediatrics. 12th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1983.

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Metadata

Authors
Stunkard, A. J., Sørensen, T. I. A., Hanis, C., Teasdale, T. W., Chakraborty, R., Schull, W. J., & Schulsinger, F.
ORCID
Venue
New England Journal of Medicine
Publisher
Massachusetts Medical Society
Published
1986-01-23
Volume
314
Issue
4
Pages
193-198
ISSN
  • 0028-4793 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-4406
DOI
10.1056/nejm198601233140401
OpenAlex
W2335145280
Cited by
1,318
References
33
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 41 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 45 · 2012: 37
FWCI
26.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • New England Journal of Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (AM 26607)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Physical Performance
Keywords
obesity, body mass index, genetic factors, family environment, adopted children, biological parents, adoptive parents, heritability of obesity
MeSH terms
Adoption, Adult, Body Weight, Denmark, Environment, Family, Female, Humans, Male, Obesity

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