Wu, Brian WSkidmore, Paula MOrta, Olivia RFaulkner, JamesLambrick, DanielleSignal, LeighWilliams, MichelleStoner, Lee2016-03-012016Wu, Brian W, Paula M Skidmore, Olivia R Orta, James Faulkner, Danielle Lambrick, Leigh Signal, Michelle A Williams, and Lee Stoner. 2016. “Genotype vs. Phenotype and the Rise of Non-Communicable Diseases: The Importance of Lifestyle Behaviors During Childhood.” Cureus 8 (1): e458. doi:10.7759/cureus.458. http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.458.2168-8184http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:25658491Despite continued research and growing public awareness, the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCD) continues to accelerate. While a person may have a genetic predisposition to certain NCDs, the rapidly changing epidemiology of NCDs points to the importance of environmental, social, and behavioural determinants of health. Specifically, three lifestyle behaviours expose children to important environmental cues and stressors: physical activity, nutritional intake, and sleep behaviour. Failure to expose children to proper gene-environment interactions, through the aforementioned lifestyle behaviours, can and will predispose children to the development of NCDs. Reengineering the environments of children can induce a paradigm shift, from a predominantly biomedical health model of treating symptomology, to a more holistic model based on encouraging appropriate behavioral decisions and optimal health.en-USPreventive MedicinePublic Healthnon-communicable diseasesphysical activitynutritionobesitysleepgenotypephenotypeJournal Article2016-03-0110.7759/cureus.458