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The aim of this research was to analyse variation in body image perception and satisfaction by age, sex and nutritional status in an adult sample from the Basque Country, Spain. A case-control study was performed for 227 women and 178 men aged 18-70 years. Stunkard's silhouettes were used to evaluate Current Body Image (CBI) and Ideal Body Image (IBI), as well as dissatisfaction and inconsistency scores. Nutritional status was assessed following the WHO criteria for BMI in an adult population. The sample was divided into four groups based on sex and age (early adulthood <45 years, and middle/older adulthood ≥45 years). The Mann-Whitney U test was employed to evaluate sex and age differences, and the Gamma coefficient to assess the association between body image variables and nutritional status. Significant age differences in CBI (p<0.05) and sex differences in IBI (p<0.001) were detected. Both variables showed a positive association with BMI (p<0.01), which indicates that BMI is a biological characteristic related to body image satisfaction and influences participants' perception of themselves. Dissatisfaction scores showed that both sex and age differences (p<0.05) were negatively associated with BMI (p<0.001). Only participants ≥45 years presented sex differences in inconsistency scores (p<0.05); this variable was associated with BMI in women (p<0.01). Preferences in body image showed sexual dimorphism, with women preferring thinner bodies than men - a pattern observed in many Western populations - linked in part to sociocultural pressures. Women were more dissatisfied with their bodies than men; a higher dissatisfaction was observed in older relative to younger participants. The results confirm the association between nutritional status and body size perception and satisfaction, but also the relationship between nutritional status and the reliability with which women can classify themselves; in men, this relationship was not as clear.

The EHU12/24 (code of a survey from the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, UPV/EHU) study was designed to investigate the risk factors of overweight/obesity-related lifestyles, particularly those associated with diet, their psychosocial influences and the interactions among these factors. This observational cohort study was carried out according to a standardised protocol and involved a representative sample of the UPV/EHU student population. Anthropometric measurements, direct behavioural determinants, such as physical activity and diet, and indirect determinants, such as social/psychological factors, are considered. In this paper, we present the survey design, instruments, measurements and related quality management. We describe the study sample in terms of its socio-economic and demographic factors and knowledge area and summarise the methodology used to collect the data and obtain the anthropometric measurements. The participants were 603 students (59·5 % female) aged 18-28 years. The crude participation proportion was 53·5 %. Regarding the knowledge area, the lowest response proportions were obtained from the Health Sciences (38·6 %) compared with the Non-Health Sciences (48·3 %) (P = 0·003). The mean age was 20·9 years, and 83·1 % of the sample were from Basque Country. Regarding the socio-economic characteristics, there were significant differences by sex and knowledge area in most studied variables. Moreover, the Health Sciences students were more likely younger, from outside Basque Country, to have parents with university degrees and to have a higher social status. In conclusion, the EHU12/24 cohort provides valuable data for analysing the complexity and multidimensionality of obesity in university students.

The somatotype is a useful method in the analysis of body morphology but no study has identified genetic variants associated with its components. The aim of this study is o replicate the association of 21 SNPs with obesity and to explore their association with the somatotype components, in a sample from the Basque Country (Spain). A case-control study was performed in 472 adults from 18 to 79 years old. A literature search was conducted in PubMed to select genetic variants associated with obesity in European derived populations. After the quality control of the chosen variants, 21 SNPs were finally used to conduct association analyses. Logistic and linear regressions implemented in PLINK (v1.07) were used to assess the association between SNPs and the somatotype. Two genetic variants (rs925946 in BDNF and rs10146997 in NRXN3) showed a significant association with endomorphy ( p < 0.01) while rs10146997 (in NRXN3) and rs9939609 (in FTO) were associated with mesomorphy ( p < 0.01). rs925946 (in BDNF), rs10146997 (in NRXN3), rs9939609 (in FTO) and rs4776970 (in MAP2K5) were associated with ectomorphy ( p < 0.05). In conclusion, four genetic variants (in or near BDNF, NRXN3, MAP2K5 and FTO) contribute to body shape and composition in the analysed sample.

Background: Genes and the environment contribute to variation in adult body mass index [BMI (in kg/m 2 )], but factors modifying these variance components are poorly understood. Objective: We analyzed genetic and environmental variation in BMI between men and women from young adulthood to old age from the 1940s to the 2000s and between cultural-geographic regions representing high (North America and Australia), moderate (Europe), and low (East Asia) prevalence of obesity. Design: We used genetic structural equation modeling to analyze BMI in twins ≥20 y of age from 40 cohorts representing 20 countries (140,379 complete twin pairs). Results: The heritability of BMI decreased from 0.77 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.78) and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.75) in men and women 20-29 y of age to 0.57 (95% CI: 0.54, 0.60) and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.65) in men 70-79 y of age and women 80 y of age, respectively. The relative influence of unique environmental factors correspondingly increased. Differences in the sets of genes affecting BMI in men and women increased from 20-29 to 60-69 y of age. Mean BMI and variances in BMI increased from the 1940s to the 2000s and were greatest in North America and Australia, followed by Europe and East Asia. However, heritability estimates were largely similar over measurement years and between regions. There was no evidence of environmental factors shared by co-twins affecting BMI. Conclusions: The heritability of BMI decreased and differences in the sets of genes affecting BMI in men and women increased from young adulthood to old age. The heritability of BMI was largely similar between cultural-geographic regions and measurement years, despite large differences in mean BMI and variances in BMI. Our results show a strong influence of genetic factors on BMI, especially in early adulthood, regardless of the obesity level in the population., (© 2017 American Society for Nutrition.)

Background: Both genetic and environmental factors are known to affect body mass index (BMI), but detailed understanding of how their effects differ during childhood and adolescence is lacking., Objectives: We analyzed the genetic and environmental contributions to BMI variation from infancy to early adulthood and the ways they differ by sex and geographic regions representing high (North America and Australia), moderate (Europe), and low levels (East Asia) of obesogenic environments., Design: Data were available for 87,782 complete twin pairs from 0.5 to 19.5 y of age from 45 cohorts. Analyses were based on 383,092 BMI measurements. Variation in BMI was decomposed into genetic and environmental components through genetic structural equation modeling., Results: The variance of BMI increased from 5 y of age along with increasing mean BMI. The proportion of BMI variation explained by additive genetic factors was lowest at 4 y of age in boys (a(2) = 0.42) and girls (a(2) = 0.41) and then generally increased to 0.75 in both sexes at 19 y of age. This was because of a stronger influence of environmental factors shared by co-twins in midchildhood. After 15 y of age, the effect of shared environment was not observed. The sex-specific expression of genetic factors was seen in infancy but was most prominent at 13 y of age and older. The variance of BMI was highest in North America and Australia and lowest in East Asia, but the relative proportion of genetic variation to total variation remained roughly similar across different regions., Conclusions: Environmental factors shared by co-twins affect BMI in childhood, but little evidence for their contribution was found in late adolescence. Our results suggest that genetic factors play a major role in the variation of BMI in adolescence among populations of different ethnicities exposed to different environmental factors related to obesity., (© 2016 American Society for Nutrition.)

Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate the association between previously GWAS identified genetic variants predisposing to obesity in Europeans and obesity-related phenotypes in Roma population., Methods: A total of 24 representative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 372 individuals belonging to 50 extended families of Roma population. SNPs were tested for association with seven quantitative obesity-related phenotypes in the PLINK program., Results: Risk variants in NEGR1, FAIM2, FTO, and SH2B1 genes were associated with increased adiposity accumulation in Roma population with effect sizes between 0.21 and 0.34 Z-scores for each copy of the BMI increasing allele. Additionally, variants in BDNF and MC4R were significantly associated with adiposity distribution but not with overall fatness. No significant association was detected between obesity-related phenotypes and variants in the first intron of the FTO gene (e.g., rs9939609)., Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that SNPs in or near six genes (BDNF, FAIM2, FTO, MC4R, NEGR1, and SH2B1) are significantly associated with body fat accumulation and distribution in Roma people. However, the association observed among variants in the first intron of FTO and obesity in European derived populations is not evident in the analyzed Roma sample., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Roma people are particularly vulnerable to developing overweight and obesity. Self-perception of body image may influence the prevalence of obesity in this ethnic minority., Aim: The objectives of this study are to estimate the prevalence of obesity, to analyse body size perceptions and preferences and to assess the relationship between body size perceptions and obesity in the Roma population., Subjects and Methods: The analyses were carried out on 372 men, women and children from the Roma population residing in the Greater Bilbao region (Basque Country, Spain). In adults, a standard figural scale was used to analyse body size perceptions and preferences in this ethnic minority., Results: Overall 51.7% of adult and 24.4% of minor Roma individuals were obese. Both Roma men and women had inaccurate self-perceptions of their body size. Significant differences on body size perceptions were detected based on age, sex, nutritional status and socioeconomic characteristics., Conclusion: This Roma population presents one of the highest rates of obesity worldwide. Although a certain awareness of the correct weight status was appreciated, the inability of Roma individuals to see themselves as overweight or obese may be a significant factor on the high prevalence of obesity in this population.

Longitudinal as well as cross-sectional studies have shown variations with age in heritability estimates for body dimensions from infancy to adulthood, even though the patterns of variation are not completely clear. Further study on this subject is of great interest and may help obesity interventions for preventing or treating obesity in children. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to analyse the changes in the genetic and environmental architecture of 8 body linearity and obesity-related phenotypes during the growth process in a cross-sectional sample of 1018 nuclear families from the province of Biscay (Basque Country, Spain). The contribution of additive genetic effects to the variation of the analysed traits was estimated by a variance component analysis using the SOLAR program. Moderate to high heritability estimates were obtained for all 8 anthropometric phenotypes (38.23-65.98%). The heritability values show an increasing trend with age and in the course of the entire ontogenetic development two age periods were remarkable. At 7(+)-8(+) years of age a strong increase in heritability estimates was found for all the anthropometric phenotypes, except for the sum of skinfolds (SF6), reflecting the biological significance of genes during mid-childhood. During puberty, most of the obesity related phenotypes showed their highest heritability values while linear measurements and weight presented a decrease in the genetic contributions. In conclusion, this study confirms that additive genetic influences have a considerable effect on body linearity and obesity-related traits throughout the growth period and that mid-childhood and puberty are very sensitive periods in human life cycle., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Background: The Roma people are particularly vulnerable to developing obesity and related diseases, due to their social and ethnic backgrounds. However, little is known about the genetic and/or environmental factors affecting the variability of obesity-related traits among the Roma population., Aim: The aim of the present study was to estimate heritabilities and common genetic and environmental influences of obesity-related phenotypes in a sample of Roma people living in the Greater Bilbao region (Basque Country; Spain)., Subjects and Methods: Three hundred and seventy-two individuals from 50 large, extended and highly consanguineous pedigrees were phenotyped for anthropometric traits related to obesity. Heritability estimates were assessed for all quantitative traits and bivariate analyses were conducted to assess the phenotypic, genetic and environmental correlations among these traits., Results: Significant heritable components (p<0.01) ranging from 0.25-0.68 exist for the studied phenotypes. Heritability for WHR (h(2) =0.60) considerably surpasses the usual heritability estimates on family-based studies ( <0.30). Measures of overall fatness (BMI, CF and SF) show stronger correlations with each other than body fat distribution traits (WHR, CI and TER)., Conclusions: The study concluded that the Greater Bilbao Roma population is genetically predisposed to abdominal fat distribution. Variation in body mass is highly associated with variation in adiposity. However, overall fatness and adiposity distribution does not seem to share major common genetic factors, although common environmental factors operate between them.

Obesity has become a public-health and policy problem in many parts of the world. Epidemiological and population studies in this field are usually based on different anthropometric measures; however, common genetic and environmental factors between these phenotypes have been scarcely studied. The objective of this article is to assess the strength of these factors on the covariation among a large set of obesity-related traits. The subject group consisted of 533 nuclear families living in the Greater Bilbao (Spain), and included 1,702 individuals aged 2-61 years. Detailed anthropometric measurements (stature, breadths, circumferences and skinfolds) were carried out in each subject. Bivariate quantitative genetic analyses were performed using a variance-components procedure implemented in the software SOLAR. The results revealed that the majority of these traits is affected by common genetic and environmental factors. All correlations were significantly different from 1 and varied from non-significant to very high (>0.90, P < 0.0001), with clearly lower pleiotropic effects among pairs including fat-distribution traits. Despite the strong common genetic effects detected among phenotypes determining the amount of body fat and mass, there is a residual genetic influence on the local fatness measures that cannot be explained exclusively by the genetic influence on overall fatness. Moreover, the observed relationships confirm a partially different genetic control of truncal and peripheral fat. In conclusion, our findings highlight the relevance of considering different types of traits in the prevention and treatment of obesity, as well as in the search for genes involved in its development.

Background: It is well established that variation of soft-tissue traits is less influenced by the genetic component than skeletal traits. However, it is still unclear whether heritabilities (h(2)) of obesity-related phenotypes present a common pattern across populations., Aim: To estimate familial resemblance and heritability of body size, shape and composition phenotypes and to compare these results with those from other populations., Subjects and Methods: The subject group consisted of 533 nuclear families living in Greater Bilbao and included 1702 individuals aged 2-61 years. Familial correlations and h(2) were estimated for 29 anthropometric phenotypes (19 simple measures, three derived factors, four obesity indices and the three Heath-Carter somatotype components) using MAN and SOLAR programmes., Results: All phenotypes were influenced by additive genetic factors with narrow sense heritabilities ranging from 0.28-0.69. In general, skeletal traits exhibited the highest h(2), whereas phenotypes defining the amount of adipose tissue, particularly central fat, were less determined by genetic factors., Conclusions: Familial correlations and heritability estimates of body morphology and composition from the Greater Bilbao sample were within the range observed in other studies. The lower heritability detected for central fat has also been found in some other populations, but further investigations in different populations using the same anthropometric traits and estimation methods are needed in order to obtain more robust conclusions.

Objectives: Several obesity phenotypes (e.g. body mass and fat, fat distribution) have been suggested to be a risk for elevated blood pressure. This study was undertaken to determine the heritability of four blood pressure phenotypes: SBP, DBP, pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) and to assess the strength of genetic and environmental correlations among these phenotypes, and also between blood pressure and the different obesity-related traits., Methods: The studied sample consisted of 429 nuclear families living in the Greater Bilbao (Spain) and included 1302 individuals aged 4-61 years. Univariate and bivariate quantitative genetic analyses were performed using a variance components procedure implemented in Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines software., Results: SBP, DBP, PP and MAP were significantly influenced by genetic factors with heritability estimates of 0.25, 0.28, 0.14 and 0.31, respectively, and presented high genetic and environmental correlations between them (except DBP-PP). On the contrary, whereas SBP, DBP and MAP showed common environmental factors with almost all body mass and fat-related traits, pleiotropic effects were only detected for some pairs, especially for those phenotypes that included skinfolds. In contrast, PP did not exhibit common genetic or environmental factors with obesity phenotypes in the studied population, Conclusion: Blood pressure and obesity phenotypes do not share, in general, a substantial influence of common genetic and environmental effects. Finally, the results obtained revealed the importance of the amount of adipose tissue in the genetic correlations with SBP, DBP and MAP, at least, during the growth period.

The present study analyzes the prevalence of overweight/obesity in a sample of young adults from the University of the Basque Country (Spain), and tests the efficiency of the silhouettes to predict overweight/obesity. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of volunteer university students from the University of the Basque Country (356 men and 745 women, age: 18-33 years), who came to the Physical Anthropology laboratory where a standardized questionnaire was administered and anthropometric measurements were taken by a well-trained anthropometrist. Height and weight were obtained. BMI was calculated as weight/height(2) (kg/m(2)) and it was used as a reference method. Using a questionnaire, based on the standard figural stimuli, subjects were asked to choose the silhouette which was closest to his/her usual appearance (current body size). The accuracy of the Williamson et al.'s silhouettes as an overweight-obesity indicator was analyzed by gender-specific receiver operating curve (ROC). The cutoff figure to distinguish between nonoverweight and overweight-obese individuals corresponded to number 7 in men and 6 in women. These cutoff values matched optimal sensitivity and specificity, with few nonoverweight subjects selecting silhouettes bigger than 7 in the case of men or 6 for women. In conclusion, the figural stimuli allows the identification of populations at overweight/obesity risk with the simple use of silhouettes, at least in this rank of age, where the overweight and obesity are yet little frequent.