Potential Effects of Ethnicity in Genetic and Environmental Sources of Variability in the Stature, Mass, and Body Mass Index of Children

Document Type

Article

Authors

Peter T. Katzmarzyk, 352 Bethune College, York University
Michael C. Mahaney, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research
John Blangero, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Resaerch
Jin-Jong Quek, Nanyan Technological University, National Institute of Education
Robert M. Malina, Michigan State University

Abstract

We examined sources of variability in stature, body mass, and body mass index (BMI) in families of black and white elementary schoolchildren from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The sample consisted of 445 black and 379 white children, 7-13 years old, and their parents (total n = 2016). The sample was distributed among 596 nuclear families, each representing an independent pedigree. Maximum-likelihood-based variance decomposition methods were used to simultaneously estimate ethnic group-specific effects of genes, sex, age by sex, and unmeasured environmental factors on stature, body mass, and BMI. Likelihood ratio tests were performed to assess the significance of h2 estimates and differences in

Recommended Citation

Katzmarzyk, Peter T.; Mahaney, Michael C.; Blangero, John; Quek, Jin-Jong; and Malina, Robert M. (1999) "Potential Effects of Ethnicity in Genetic and Environmental Sources of Variability in the Stature, Mass, and Body Mass Index of Children," Human Biology: Vol. 71: Iss. 6, Article 6.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol71/iss6/6