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Energy expenditure in small children of obese and non-obese parents

Abstract

SEVERAL recent studies have suggested the possibility of identifying some of the factors in infancy which contribute to the development of obesity in later life. For example, the abnormally rapid gain in weight of those infants who tend to become overweight later may be associated either with some genetic factor or with early overfeeding1,2. It is, however, highly probable that a child born to obese parents will itself become obese3. The main aim of this study was to see if it was possible to identify a difference in energy expenditure between children of ‘normal’ and ‘obese’ parents.

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GRIFFITHS, M., PAYNE, P. Energy expenditure in small children of obese and non-obese parents. Nature 260, 698–700 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/260698a0

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