Eating Behaviors and Weight Development in Obesity-Prone Children and the Importance of the Research of Albert J. Stunkard.

Albert J. Stunkard, MD, was an internationally recognized leader and pioneer in the field of obesity and eating disorders research. He was also among the first scientists to study eating phenotypes and early life risk factors for childhood obesity at a time when childhood obesity prevalence rates were still comparatively low. The aim of this review is to highlight select findings from the work of Albert J. Stunkard which significantly advanced our understanding of eating traits of children with a different familial predisposition to obesity and genetic and environmental influences on weight outcomes. Collectively, Stunkard's early work on childhood obesity had a significant impact on the field of ingestive behavior and obesity research in that he was one of the first investigators who pointed to genetic influences underlying behavioral eating traits and child weight status. His work also inspired numerous subsequent investigations on the relative contributions of specific genes (e.g., polymorphisms in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene) on individual differences in child eating traits (e.g., satiety responsiveness, eating in the absence of hunger) and body weight.