Behaviors such as food and beverage preferences and nutrient intake are at least partially genetically determined, said researchers in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers administered a standardized eating behavior inventory to 624 adults from 28 families participating in the Amish Family Diabetes Study to study the genetics of obesity and the eating behaviors that lead to it. The questionnaire measured three quantifiable components of eating behavior: restraint, a measure of whether people can say no to eating a food that might make them fat; disinhibition, a measure of whether people have a hard time say no to a second helping; and hunger.
Researchers also checked each subject’s fasting blood sugar, cholesterol and body mass index.
They then evaluated the association between eating behavior scores and physical characteristics. They discovered that higher scores were associated with obesity and obesity-related phenotypes and that similar scores tended to run in families. They also found evidence of a link between restraint and two chromosomal regions that influence body fat.
