Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Associations between dietary intake and body fat independent of genetic and familial environmental background

Abstract

Objective:

To determine whether habitual dietary intake was associated with body fat mass and body fat distribution, independently of possible confounding by the genetic and shared environmental background.

Design and subjects:

We examined correlations between intrapair differences in specific dietary composition and intake of foods and macronutrients in relation to differences in anthropometric phenotypes in a population-based sample of monozygotic twins. Data originated from a cross-sectional study, conducted in 1997–2000, of healthy twin pairs with measured anthropometry and information from food frequency questionnaire supplemented by self-reported weight from 1994 to 2002 and self-reported waist circumference from 2002. For this study, 153 men and 158 women identical twin pairs were included. Intrapair differences in dietary factors and anthropometry were studied using correlation analyses.

Results:

Only few statistically significant correlations between intrapair differences in dietary intake and anthropometry were found. Consistent positive associations were found between intake of sugar-sweetened soft drinks and body fat in men, but not in women. Intake of vegetable oil was inversely associated with waist change in men. Only the latter finding remained significant when accounting for multiple testing.

Conclusion:

Only few associations between individually modifiable dietary factors and body fat measures were found, and only among men. Intake of vegetable oil was inversely related to waist change and intake of sugar-sweetened soft drinks was directly related to body fat in men.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hasselbalch AL, Benyamin B, Visscher PM, Heitmann BL, Kyvik K, Sørensen TIA . Common genetic components of obesity traits and serum leptin level. Obesity 2008; 16: 2723–2729.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Maes HH, Neale MC, Eaves LJ . Genetic and environmental factors in relative body weight and human adiposity. Behav Genet 1997; 27: 325–351.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Schousboe K, Visscher PM, Erbas B, Kyvik KO, Hopper JL, Henriksen JE et al. Twin study of genetic and environmental influences on adult body size, shape, and composition. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2004; 28: 39–48.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hasselbalch AL, Heitmann BL, Kyvik K, Sørensen TIA . Studies of twins indicate that genetics influence dietary intake. J Nutr 2008; 138: 2406–2412.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Keskitalo K, Silventoinen K, Tuorila H, Perola M, Pietilainen KH, Rissanen A et al. Genetic and environmental contributions to food use patterns of young adult twins. Physiol Behav 2008; 93: 235–242.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bray GA, Paeratakul S, Popkin BM . Dietary fat and obesity: a review of animal, clinical and epidemiological studies. Physiol Behav 2004; 83: 549–555.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Malik VS, Schulze MB, Hu FB . Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr 2006; 84: 274–288.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Summerbell CD, Douthwaite W, Whittaker V, Ells LJ, Hillier F, Smith S et al. The association between diet and physical activity and subsequent excess weight gain and obesity assessed at 5 years of age or older: a systematic review of the epidemiological evidence. Int J Obes (Lond) 2009; 33 (Suppl 3): S1–S92.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Perusse L, Bouchard C . Gene-diet interactions in obesity. Am J Clin Nutr 2000; 72 (Suppl): 1285S–1290S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Machin G . Non-identical monozygotic twins, intermediate twin types, zygosity testing, and the non-random nature of monozygotic twinning: a review. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet 2009; 151C: 110–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Skytthe A, Kyvik K, Holm NV, Vaupel JW, Christensen K . The Danish Twin Registry: 127 birth cohorts of twins. Twin Res 2002; 5: 352–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Heitmann BL . Prediction of body water and fat in adult Danes from measurement of electrical impedance. A validation study. Int J Obes 1990; 14: 789–802.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Overvad K, Tjonneland A, Haraldsdottir J, Ewertz M, Jensen OM . Development of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire to assess food, energy and nutrient intake in Denmark. Int J Epidemiol 1991; 20: 900–905.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Tjonneland A, Overvad K, Haraldsdottir J, Bang S, Ewertz M, Jensen OM . Validation of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire developed in Denmark. Int J Epidemiol 1991; 20: 906–912.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lauritsen J FoodCalc version 1.3. Available from http://www.ibt.dk/jesper/foodcalc/.

  16. Møller A, Saxholt E . Levnedsmiddeltabeller (Food Composition Tables) 4th edn Levnedsmiddelstyrelsen (National Food Agency): Copenhagen, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Skytthe A, Kyvik K, Bathum L, Holm N, Vaupel JW, Christensen K . The Danish Twin Registry in the new millennium. Twin Res Hum Genet 2006; 9: 763–771.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Sørensen TIA . Conference on ‘multidisciplinary approaches to nutritional problems’. Symposium on ‘diabetes and health’. Challenges in the study of causation of obesity. Proc Nutr Soc 2009; 68: 43–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Heitmann BL, Lissner L . Dietary underreporting by obese individuals—is it specific or non-specific? BMJ 1995; 311: 986–989.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Bostrom G, Diderichsen F . Socioeconomic differentials in misclassification of height, weight and body mass index based on questionnaire data. Int J Epidemiol 1997; 26: 860–866.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Bigaard J, Spanggaard I, Thomsen BL, Overvad K, Tjonneland A . Self-reported and technician-measured waist circumferences differ in middle-aged men and women. J Nutr 2005; 135: 2263–2270.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Heitmann BL . Impedance: a valid method in assessment of body composition? Eur J Clin Nutr 1994; 48: 228–240.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is carried out as a part of the research program of the Danish Obesity Research Centre (DanORC, see www.danorc.dk). DanORC is supported by the Danish Council for Strategic Research (grant 2101-06-0005). The GEMINAKAR project was supported by grants from the Danish Medical Research Fund, the Danish Diabetes Association, the NOVO Foundation, the Danish Heart Foundation and Apotekerfonden. Kirsten Ohm Kyvik has obtained supports from the European Union Contract No. QLG2-CT-2002-01254. This study was supported by the DIOGENES which is the acronym for ‘Diet, Obesity and Genes’ supported by the European Community (contract no. FP6-513946), http://www.diogenes-eu.org/.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A L Hasselbalch.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hasselbalch, A., Heitmann, B., Kyvik, K. et al. Associations between dietary intake and body fat independent of genetic and familial environmental background. Int J Obes 34, 892–898 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.1

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links