Inductivist

Abstract from the journal Genes:

Investigations on the impact of genetic factors on the development of obesity have been limited regarding the Roma population—the largest and most vulnerable ethnic minority in Europe of Asian origin. Genetic variants identified from genetic association studies are primarily from European populations.

With that in mind, we investigated the applicability of data on selected obesity‐related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), obtained from the Hungarian general (HG) population of European origin, on the Hungarian Roma (HR) population.

Twenty preselected SNPs in susceptible alleles, known to be significantly associated with obesity‐related phenotypes, were used to estimate the effect of these SNPs on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in HG (N = 1783) and HR (N = 1225) populations. Single SNP associations were tested using linear and logistic regression models, adjusted for known covariates.

Out of 20 SNPs, four located in FTO (rs1121980, rs1558902, rs9939609, and rs9941349) showed strong association with BMI and WC as continuous variables in both samples. Computations based on Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) and the International Diabetes Federation’s (IDF) European and Asian criteria showed rs9941349 in FTO to be associated only with WC among both populations, and two SNPs (rs2867125, rs6548238) in TMEM18 associated with WC only in HG population. A substantial difference (both in direction and effect size) was observed only in the case of rs1801282 in PPARγ on WC as a continuous outcome.

Findings suggest that genetic risk scores based on counting SNPs with relatively high effect sizes, defined based on populations with European ancestry, can sufficiently allow estimation of genetic susceptibility for Roma. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of SNP(s) with protective effect(s).

New from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology:

Personality traits contribute to health outcomes, in part through their association with major controllable risk factors, such as obesity. Body weight, in turn, reflects our behaviors and lifestyle and contributes to the way we perceive ourselves and others. In this study, the authors use data from a large (N = 1,988) longitudinal study that spanned more than 50 years to examine how personality traits are associated with multiple measures of adiposity and with fluctuations in body mass index (BMI). Using 14,531 anthropometric assessments, the authors modeled the trajectory of BMI across adulthood and tested whether personality predicted its rate of change. Measured concurrently, participants higher on Neuroticism or Extraversion or lower on Conscientiousness had higher BMI; these associations replicated across body fat, waist, and hip circumference. The strongest association was found for the impulsivity facet: Participants who scored in the top 10% of impulsivity weighed, on average, 11Kg more than those in the bottom 10%. Longitudinally, high Neuroticism and low Conscientiousness, and the facets of these traits related to difficulty with impulse control, were associated with weight fluctuations, measured as the variability in weight over time. Finally, low Agreeableness and impulsivity-related traits predicted a greater increase in BMI across the adult life span. BMI was mostly unrelated to change in personality traits. Personality traits are defined by cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns that likely contribute to unhealthy weight and difficulties with weight management. Such associations may elucidate the role of personality traits in disease progression and may help to design more effective interventions.

If a fat job applicant waddles into your office, should you assume he is lazy?

The MIDUS Study measured the body mass index (BMI) as well as personality characteristics of a large sample of adults. Here are the BMI/personality correlations for men and women:

Correlations

Men (white, ages 40-59, n = 830)
Conscientiousness -.07
Achievement -.07
Control -.10

Women (white, ages 40-59, n = 978)
Conscientiousness -.21
Achievement -.12
Control -.06

The correlations are weak; they are a bit stronger for women. So there is a slight tendency for heavier people to be less achieving, less conscientious, and lacking in self-control, but no more than a slight tendency.

According to a CDC report:

When results are considered by single race without regard to ethnicity, 55% of Asian adults were at a healthy weight compared with 37% of white adults, 29% of American Indian or Alaska Native adults, and 29% of black adults.

Black adults and American Indian or Alaska Native adults were about 3-4 times as likely to be obese as Asian adults. White adults were about three times as likely as Asian adults to be obese. When results are considered by single race and ethnicity, 36% of non-Hispanic black adults were obese compared with 31% of Hispanic adults and 26% of non-Hispanic white adults. Hispanic adults were more likely to be overweight (but not obese) than either non-Hispanic white or non-Hispanic black adults.

The last comparison is consistent with a comment made on this blog some time ago that Hispanics are more likely to be overweight, but not REALLY fat.


UPDATE: I know there are other reasons why people are overweight, but the racial ordering is consistent with other facts that suggest greater conscientiousness among Asian Americans.

According to Rasmussen, over 60% of Americans oppose proposals to charge overweight people more for their health insurance.

In an related story, the CDC reports that over 60% of Americans are overweight.

Males, N = 410

Hispanic Americans are fatter than the rest of us (and we're fat as hell): I examined 2002 Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System data on 247,964 Americans. Here are mean Body Mass Indexes by Hispanic ethnicity:


Mean Body Mass Index

Hispanics 3248.95
Non-Hispanics 2992.84

(I wasn't able to figure out why their index is different from the one that ranges from the teens to the thirties). Adjusting for height, Hispanics are heavier than others, and the difference is about one-sixth of a standard deviation.

As everyone knows, obesity is associated with a long list of health problems, not to mention eye pollution. Mass immigration from the south is making us a less healthy society.

Living in America makes you fatter, and not in a good way: People who participated in the National Health Interview Survey were measured for weight and were also asked how many years they had lived in the United States. People gain weight as they age, so I calculated mean pounds for those between the ages of 31 and 35 (N=1,202), and this what I found:


Mean weight in pounds

Men
less than one year in U.S. 164.65
1 to less than 5 years 160.78
5 to less than 10 years 164.36
10 to less than 15 years 165.36
15 years or more 172.56

All American men ages 31-35 181.03

Women
less than one year in U.S. 132.71
1 to less than 5 years 131.99
5 to less than 10 years 133.67
10 to less than 15 years 137.93
15 years or more 139.68

All American women ages 31-35 143.82

It looks like people drop a little in the first few years, but after that they get fatter. But immigrants here even 15 years or more are still several pounds lighter than average. (If you're paying attention, you might be thinking that they remain lighter because they are shorter. I created a new variable by dividing weight by height. The mean score for all American men is 2.57, and 2.23 for women; for immigrants here 15 years or more, it's 2.51 for men and 2.19 for women, so you have a point).

There was a time when gaining a few pounds after reaching America's shores might have been a good thing, but I doubt it is now.

Americans are the fattest people in the world: Nationmaster.com has data on obesity, and Americans are the big (emphasis on big) losers. I love my country as much as the next guy, but all this eye pollution does make me embarassed for us. And one of the few joys in life is to see pretty women during my otherwise unpleasant day. (I refuse to apologize for enjoying this--blame it on God if you like, I was born this way). It is getter harder and harder to find these girls since 1) they are all fat now, and 2) all the fat people block one's view.


It's natural to infer from this website that I am anti-immigration, but such an inference is wrong. I would love to see the country flooded with thin Asian women. But as you see from the rankings here, Mexico is not helping us: they're the number 2 fatties, and don't I know it.


Percent Obese

United States 30.6
Mexico 24.2
United Kingdom 23.0
Slovakia 22.4
Greece 21.9
Australia 21.7
New Zealand 20.9
Hungary 18.8
Luxembourg 18.4
Czech Republic 14.8
Canada 14.3
Spain 13.1
Ireland 13.0
Germany 12.9
Finland 12.8
Portugal 12.8
Iceland 12.4
Turkey 12.0
Belgium 11.7
Netherlands 10.0
Sweden 9.7
Denmark 9.5
France 9.4
Austria 9.1
Italy 8.5
Norway 8.3
Switzerland 7.7
Korea, South 3.2
Japan 3.2