A major strength of our study is the use of a well-characterized, community-based sample that was not selected for obesity-related outcomes.
For the trait mapping analysis we obtained DNA from 239 BC rats which were selected for an obesity phenotype by visual inspection at an age of 3 4 weeks.
Genes were selected for involvement in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and bone traits [ 13- 19] and strains were chosen based on their distinct genealogy [ 20].
All anatomic specimens were prepared with Anubifix™ (city blinded, the Netherlands) for optimal preservation [ 20] and selected for absence of obesity, lack of a total hip arthroplasty and an optimal flexibility of the hip joint of at least 90° of flexion.
It is not clear whether higher reported physical activity indicates higher energy expenditure, particularly as there were no differences in weight between those with high and low hyperactivity/inattention scores, with both groups having high rates of obesity in this sample of children selected for risk factors for adult obesity.
However, in that Danish study, half of the men were selected for the presence of adult obesity (above the 99th percentile), and it is possible that the effect of the FTO rs9939609 variant on BMI or weight gain might be greater in individuals with obesogenic lifestyles, such as sedentary behaviours (15, 16).
The Module-Trait Relationships (MTRs) with all selected obesity and obesity-related (OOR) traits were calculated by correlating the module's eigengene to the traits of interest and used for selection of modules for downstream analysis.
Might human obesity have been selected for a similar reason?
The aforementioned six EDs and obesity-associated SNPs were selected for de novo replication in the TEENAGE cohort.
Because of the manner in which women were selected for the study, this is not a prevalence study for obesity.
