Project Grow-2-Gether: A study of the genetic and environmental influences on child eating and obesity

  • Myles S. Faith
  • , Kathleen L. Keller
  • , Patty Matz
  • , Susan L. Johnson
  • , Rebecca Lewis
  • , Marie Alexandra Jorge
  • , Clare Ridley
  • , Helen Han
  • , Shoshanna Must
  • , Moonseong Heo
  • , Angelo Pietrobelli
  • , Steven B. Heymsfield
  • , David B. Allison

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

"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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)472-475
Number of pages4
JournalTwin Research
Volume5
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2002

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Genetics(clinical)

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