近日来自澳大利亚昆士兰大学的研究人员发现了欧洲人群身高和体重差异性存在的遗传学基础。昆士兰大学脑研究所的Dr. Matthew Robinson 指出，这项研究能够解释为什么来自欧洲北部国家的人们相比于欧洲其他区域的人们会更加高挑。
他们在研究中发现导致身高更高的基因与导致体重指数（BMI）更低的基因之间存在很强的关联性。Dr. Robinson说道："我们的发现为斯堪的纳维亚人又高又瘦的表型出现提供了遗传学基础。"这项研究也为进一步研究基因是否参与了痴呆，糖尿病以及心脏病等疾病的国家差异性铺平了道路。
另外一位研究人员指出，这些基因差异的出现可能是由于一些历史和自然因素对身高和BMI进行选择的结果。这项研究表明从遗传学角度来说，国民身高比较高的国家，其国民的平均体重也可能更轻。
在这项研究中，研究人员对来自14个国家的9,416人进行了分析，同时结合GWAS数据找到了许多促进身高和BMI出现群体差异性的基因位点。Dr. Robinson指出，平均来说有大约24%与身高有关的基因差异以及大约8%与BMI有关的基因变化与地域差异有关。
研究人员还指出，不同国家的国民从身高到某种疾病的流行程度等很多方面都存在差异，而目前不同国家国民之间的身高差异已经可以通过国民之间的基因差异进行部分解释，但对于群体BMI来说，环境因素才是主导因素。
相关研究结果发表在国际学术期刊Nature Genetics上。
Population genetic differentiation of height and body mass index across Europe
Matthew R Robinson,Gibran Hemani,Carolina Medina-Gomez,Massimo Mezzavilla,Tonu Esko,Konstantin Shakhbazov,Joseph E Powell,Anna Vinkhuyzen,Sonja I Berndt,Stefan Gustafsson,Anne E Justice,Bratati Kahali,Adam E Locke,Tune H Pers,Sailaja Vedantam,Andrew R Wood,Wouter van Rheenen,Ole A Andreassen,Paolo Gasparini,Andres Metspalu,Leonard H van den Berg,Jan H Veldink,Fernando Rivadeneira,Thomas M Werge,Goncalo R Abecasis,Dorret I Boomsma,Daniel I Chasman,Eco J C de Geus,Timothy M Frayling,Joel N Hirschhorn,Jouke Jan Hottenga,Erik Ingelsson,Ruth J F Loos,Patrik K E Magnusson,Nicholas G Martin,Grant W Montgomery,Kari E North,Nancy L Pedersen,Timothy D Spector,Elizabeth K Speliotes,Michael E Goddard,Jian Yang & Peter M Visscher
Across-nation differences in the mean values for complex traits are common1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, but the reasons for these differences are unknown. Here we find that many independent loci contribute to population genetic differences in height and body mass index (BMI) in 9,416 individuals across 14 European countries. Using discovery data on over 250,000 individuals and unbiased effect size estimates from 17,500 sibling pairs, we estimate that 24% (95% credible interval (CI) = 9%, 41%) and 8% (95% CI = 4%, 16%) of the captured additive genetic variance for height and BMI, respectively, reflect population genetic differences. Population genetic divergence differed significantly from that in a null model (height, P < 3.94 × 10?8; BMI, P < 5.95 × 10?4), and we find an among-population genetic correlation for tall and slender individuals (r = ?0.80, 95% CI = ?0.95, ?0.60), consistent with correlated selection for both phenotypes. Observed differences in height among populations reflected the predicted genetic means (r = 0.51; P < 0.001), but environmental differences across Europe masked genetic differentiation for BMI (P < 0.58).