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Obesity is often established in adolescence, and advances are being made in identifying its genetic underpinnings. We examine issues related to the eventual likelihood of genetic tests for obesity targeted to adolescents: family involvement; comprehension of the test's meaning; how knowledge of genetic status may affect psychological adaptation; minors' ability to control events; parental/child autonomy; ability to make informed medical decisions; self-esteem; unclear distinctions between early/late onset for this condition; and social stigmatization. The public health arena will be important in educating families about possible future genetic tests for obesity. Key words: genetic testing, minors, adolescents, obesity

In eight locations ranging from rural to urban in and around Philadelphia, interactions between clerks and customers were observed in a post office and a delicatessen for 2 days in the summer of 1979 and 1 day in the summer of 1980. Mean sociability of these interactions differed reliably across locations, both over days (r = .85) and over years (r = .78). As predicted from the urban overload hypothesis, more urban locations were busier with more customers and were also less sociable. But contrary to the hypothesis, the relation between urbanism and unsociability was not mediated by number of customers. A modified social overload hypothesis is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]