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Behav Genet (2017) 47:290297
DOI 10.1007/s10519-017-9838-2
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1883-2927
Web End = Received: 15 August 2016 / Accepted: 10 February 2017 / Published online: 25 February 2017 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017
the genetic factors related to drinking both more and more often are shared with those responsible for lower BMI.
Keywords Alcohol use BMI Obesity SNP heritability Genetic correlation UK Biobank
Introduction
Both obesity and alcoholism are known public health concerns (World 2000, 2002). Given that both of these conditions result from the excessive consumption of either food or alcoholic beverages, researchers have questioned whether there may be an etiological link behind these two behaviors. Neurobiological evidence has hinted at a potential connection between drug (in this case, alcohol) and food addiction with the dopamine system serving as a prime contender for biologically linking these two conditions (Volkow and Wise 2005; Volkow etal. 2008, 2012).
Despite these potential links and the expectation that increase in alcohol consumption, and thus, caloric intake would necessarily increase the risk of obesity, the observed relationship between alcohol use and obesity has been mixed (Yeomans 2010). In a review of ndings from both cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs, examinations of heavy and binge drinking tended to nd positive associations between alcohol consumption and measures of obesity, while studies on light to moderate drinking were more likely to report either no or negative correlations (Sayon-Orea et al. 2011). Further, while drinking large quantities of alcohol may be associated with higher body mass, increased frequency of alcohol consumption may have a protective eect against obesity (Breslow and Smothers 2005). Additionally, gender may have an impact on the magnitude and direction of these relationships
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http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10519-017-9838-2&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10519-017-9838-2&domain=pdf
Web End = Phenotypic andGenetic Relationship Between BMI andDrinking inaSample ofUK Adults
AmandaG.Wills1,2,4http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1883-2927
Web End = LukeM.Evans2 ChristianHopfer2,3
Abstract The health impairments derived from both alcoholism and obesity are well known. However, reports that relate increased alcohol use with increased measures of obesity have been mixed in their ndings, especially with respect to genetic factors that could potentially link these two behaviors. Here, using a large sample of adults from the UK (n 113,000), we report both the observed and genetic correlations between BMI (kg/m2) and two measures of alcohol use:...