Genetic insights into regional economic inequality and the obesity epidemic
Genetic data is being increasingly used to address key research questions within the health and social sciences, most frequently through the use of polygenic scores (PGS) – summary measures of an individual’s genetic predisposition to a trait. Genetic data is also being leveraged to provide policy relevant information. This project will use genetic data from the UKHLS to provide insights into two important policy areas: regional inequalities and the obesity epidemic.
The project will comprise two studies. Study 1 will use genetic data to reassess geographical disparities in skills; firstly, by examining how PGS for cognitive ability and educational attainment – traits that are strong predictors of productivity – are distributed across the UK, and secondly by assessing whether these PGS are associated with area-level indicators of deprivation and economic performance. Study 2 will use PGS for BMI to examine whether the association between the ‘obesogenic’ environment (e.g., availability of fast food and green space) and obesity is genetically confounded and, further, whether the association between the environment and obesity differs according to genotype (gene-environment interaction). A further output of this project will be a wider bank of polygenic scores created for other researchers to use.
