Cases: (A) 987 German obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) adults from a study at the University of Marburg sampled in the region of Marburg, Germany [24] (Table 1) and (B) 336 overweight and obese children and adolescents (all had a BMI ≥ 90th percentile) recruited within the Obeldicks program [25] at the University of Witten/Herdecke in the region of Datteln, Germany (Table 1). Controls: 588 normal and underweight healthy (all had BMI < 75th percentile) adults who were students at the University of Marburg at the time of recruitment (Table 1, [24]). The use of lean adults who were never overweight or obese during childhood (assessed by interview [26]), as control group reduces the chances of misclassification compared to the use of lean children as controls who might become overweight in adulthood.
