Research has shown that a person's height is about 81 percent heritable,whereas his or her body mass index (BMI)is about 59 percent heritable.Which of the following is the most accurate interpretation of these findings?
A)The variability we see in a population's height is more influenced by genetic factors than the variability we see in the population's weight.
B)Environmental factors account for only 19 percent of a person's height and 41 percent of a person's BMI.
C)We cannot make any conclusions about genetic contributions to either height or weight.
D)Knowing the relative genetic contributions to traits such as height or weight does not allow us to compare these two unrelated characteristics of people.

Question

Research has shown that a person's height is about 81 percent heritable,whereas his or her body mass index (BMI)is about 59 percent heritable.Which of the following is the most accurate interpretation of these findings?​ 
A)The variability we see in a population's height is more influenced by genetic factors than the variability we see in the population's weight. 
B)Environmental factors account for only 19 percent of a person's height and 41 percent of a person's BMI. 
C)We cannot make any conclusions about genetic contributions to either height or weight. 
D)Knowing the relative genetic contributions to traits such as height or weight does not allow us to compare these two unrelated characteristics of people.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The statement indicates that height is more strongly influenced by genetic factors than BMI, with 81 percent of variability in height being influenced by genetics and only 59 percent of variability in BMI being influenced by genetics. Therefore, A is the correct interpretation. B is not accurate because although the heritability percentages are lower for environmental influences, it is not necessarily true that these factors account for the stated percentages of a person's height or BMI. C is not accurate because the statement clearly provides information about genetic contributions to height and weight. D is not accurate because it is possible to compare genetic contributions to different characteristics, as has been done in this statement for height and BMI.

Research Has Shown That a Person's Height Is About 81