Testing for family influences on obesity: The role of genetic nurture

Citation

Cawley, John; Han, Euna; Kim, Jiyoon; & Norton, Edward C. (2019). Testing for family influences on obesity: The role of genetic nurture. Health Economics. vol. 28 (7) pp. 937-952

Abstract

A large literature has documented strong positive correlations among siblings in health, including body mass index (BMI) and obesity. This paper tests whether that is explained by a specific type of peer effect in obesity: genetic nurture. Specifically, we test whether an individual's weight is affected by the genes of their sibling, controlling for the individual's own genes. Using genetic data in Add Health, we find no credible evidence that an individual's BMI is affected by the polygenic risk score for BMI of their full sibling when controlling for the individual's own polygenic risk score for BMI. Thus, we find no evidence that the positive correlations in BMI between siblings are attributable to genetic nurture within families.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3889

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Health Economics

Author(s)

Cawley, John
Han, Euna
Kim, Jiyoon
Norton, Edward C.

Year Published

2019

Volume Number

28

Issue Number

7

Pages

937-952

ISSN/ISBN

1057-9230

DOI

10.1002/hec.3889

Reference ID

6797