We have investigated BMI in childhood using different time points in genome-wide association settings. Our results suggest that the genomic profile differs according to the nature of the phenotype being investigated; optimising BMI appropriattely for each age group, so that the correlation of BMI with height is removed, resulted in SNPs in ADCY3 being genome-wide significant while this was not the case when BMI was used without this adjustment (Stergiakouli et al under review).

As an extension of this project we would like to perform a genome-wide association study of body shape perceptions using data from the "Growing up" questionnaire. This questionnaire was completed by the children when they were ~ 77 months and asked them to choose one from a series of pictures which best reflected how they thought their body looked.

We are interested in comparing the results from our previous GWAS of BMI in childhood with a GWAS of body perception. We would also test if top hits from published GWAS on BMI in childhood and adulthood can be replicated using body perception data.