It has long been clear that people's weight is determined by a balance of heredity and life-style. But which exerts the heavier effect? Two reports in last week's New England Journal of Medicine tip the scales firmly toward genetic makeup.
In one investigation, researchers from the U.S. and Sweden analyzed weight and height records from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. Reviewing data on 247 identical and 426 fraternal pairs of twins, the team found that siblings end up with similar body weights whether or not they are raised in different families, and that they are much more likely to grow...
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