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
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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“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
Indices of relative weight and obesity
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Use of the Danish Adoption Register for the study of obesity and thinness.
Stunkard, A. J., Sørensen, T. I. A., & D, F. S. M. (1983) · PubMed · Cited by 1,773
Self-citationThe Science and Politics of IQ
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The accuracy of self-reported weights
Stunkard, A. J., & Albaum, J. (1981) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/34.8.1593 · Cited by 624
Self-citationDrinking Problems in Adopted and Nonadopted Sons of Alcoholics
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Childhood Antecedents of Adult Obesity
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Mental Illness in the Biological and Adoptive Families of Adopted Schizophrenics
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Lippa, N. C., & Sanderson, S. C. (2013) · Human Heredity · doi:10.1159/000353712 · Cited by 6,095
The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years
Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2007) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmsa066082 · Cited by 5,007
Poirier, P., Giles, T. D., Bray, G. A., Hong, Y., Stern, J. S., Pi-Sunyer, F. X., & Eckel, R. H. (2006) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.106.171016 · Cited by 3,165
Socioeconomic Status and Obesity: A Review of the Literature
Sobal, J., & Stunkard, A. J. (1989) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.105.2.260 · Cited by 2,346
Self-citationWhere is the child's environment? A group socialization theory of development.
Harris, J. R. (1995) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.102.3.458 · Cited by 1,885
Metadata
- Authors
- Stunkard, A. J., Sørensen, T. I. A., Hanis, C., Teasdale, T. W., Chakraborty, R., Schull, W. J., & Schulsinger, F.
- 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
- 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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