PhD Exercise Nutrition and Health Sciences

该项目将调查年轻人对肥胖行为易感性的遗传和环境决定因素。行为易感性理论提出，与食欲相关的特征，如饱腹感反应，会增加体重增加的风险。支持这一理论的证据在儿童身上有，但在成人身上没有。新的成人饮食行为问卷（AEBQ），由伦敦大学学院开发，心理测量学评估饮食行为，包括饱腹反应，食物反应，饥饿和进食速度慢。在儿童中，这些特征已经通过直接观察到的饮食行为得到验证，并显示出与膳食量、体重增加和肥胖基因变异FTO2、3、4的潜在关联。alspac是研究饮食行为终生决定因素的世界领先资源。布里斯托大学的主管Johnson and Howe资助了24岁（2016年1 - 12月）的ALSPAC问卷中AEBQ的收集，埃克塞特大学的主管Frayling是肥胖遗传学领域的领导者。这种合作为具有较强定量分析能力的学生提供了一个独特的机会。该学生将首次使用自出生以来收集的纵向数据来测试年轻人对肥胖行为易感性的遗传和环境决定因素。鉴于现有数据的范围，学生将发展自己的项目方向，其潜在目标包括：-评估97种遗传变异与AEBQ子量表的关联，以及AEBQ子量表在遗传风险评分与肥胖之间的关联程度-开展AEBQ子量表的全基因组关联研究，以识别新的遗传变异-分析生命历程生长轨迹的关联。肥胖、能量摄入、身体活动和其他环境决定因素（如心理健康、睡眠、社会经济地位的测量）与AEBQ子量表。这个项目不仅可以更详细地了解成年人的饮食行为及其与肥胖的机制联系，从而确定新的干预目标，而且还可以通过经济有效地针对那些使用AEBQ作为筛选工具确定的行为易感性的人，为预防肥胖提供分层方法。

This project will investigate the genetic and environmental determinants of behavioural susceptibility to obesity in young adults. The behavioural susceptibility theory proposes that appetite-related traits such as satiety responsiveness contribute to the risk of weight gain. Supporting evidence for the theory is available in children but not adults. The new Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ), developed at UCL, psychometrically assesses eating behaviours including satiety responsiveness, food responsiveness, hunger, and slowness of eating. In children these traits have been validated against directly observed eating behaviour1 and show prospective associations with meal size, weight gain and the obesity genetic variant FTO2,3,4ALSPAC is a world-leading resource to study the life-course determinants of eating behaviours. Bristol supervisors Johnson and Howe have funded the collection of the AEBQ in ALSPAC in the questionnaire at age 24 years (Jan-Dec 2016) and Exeter supervisor Frayling is a leader in the field of obesity genetics. This collaboration offers a unique opportunity for a student with strong quantitative skills. The student will test the genetic and environmental determinants of behavioural susceptibility to obesity in young adults for the first time using longitudinal data collected since birth. Given the range of data available the student will develop their own project direction with potential aims including:-Assess the association of 97 genetic variants predisposing to higher BMI and adiposity5 with AEBQ sub-scales, and the extent to which AEBQ sub-scales mediate the association between the genetic risk score and adiposity-Carry out genome-wide association studies of AEBQ sub-scales to identify novel genetic variants-Analyse associations of life course trajectories of growth, adiposity, energy intake, physical activity and other environmental determinants (e.g. measures of mental health, sleep, socioeconomic status) with AEBQ sub-scales.This project will not only lead to a more detailed understanding of adult eating behaviours and their mechanistic links to obesity enabling the identification of new targets for intervention, but could also underpin stratified approaches to obesity prevention by cost-effectively targeting those with a behavioural susceptibility identified using the AEBQ as a screening tool.