Here, we present findings from a GWAS designed to identify genetic variants influencing childhood obesity and its comorbidities in the Hispanic population. We have published evidence of heritability, pleiotropy amongst traits, and chromosomal regions implicated in obesity among Hispanic children in our VIVA LA FAMILIA Study [4], [10]–[15] In-depth phenotyping was performed to characterize the children, including anthropometry, body composition, growth, metabolites, hormones, inflammation, diet, energy expenditure and substrate utilization and physical activity. Our high-density SNP genotyping and phenotypes representing not only adiposity, but also biological processes associated with the development and consequences of childhood obesity enabled localization of novel genetic loci associated with the pathophysiology of childhood obesity.
