Obesity 'may be largely genetic'
Becoming overweight as a child is more likely to be the result of your genes than your lifestyle, claims a study.
Their American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study found that differences in body mass index and waist size were 77% governed by genes.
It is wrong to place all the blame for a child's excessive weight gain on the parents - it is more likely to be due to the child's genetic susceptibility
Professor Jane Wardle
University College London
Twin studies are a good way to test how far our genes or our environment influence our development.
Identical twins have exactly the same genes, while non-identical twins are genetically different, like brother and sister.
However, because they were born at the same time, and raised in the same household, they can be assumed to have roughly similar upbringing in terms of food.
They worked out that the effect of a bad environment was far less marked than the effect of a child's genes.
clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk 