More than one-third of adults in the United States are obese (Flegal et al. 2012). Given the health consequences of obesity (Mokdad et al. 2003), understanding the causes of weight differences in the population is a critical public health issue. Social and genetic epidemiologists have a great deal of interest in using interactions between environmental and genetic factors to characterize the health of populations. This research has the potential to identify specific environments in which genetic influences on obesity-related phenotypes are enhanced or dampened. Similarly, it can highlight genetic factors that make certain individuals particularly sensitive to their environments (Caspi et al. 2003; Ellis et al. 2011). Integrating social and genetic perspectives holds the potential to enhance findings for both biologically and socially focused research.
