The NGHS was initiated by the NHLBI in 1985 as a contract-supported program to determine if the Black-white differences in the development of obesity in 2,379 pubescent females were due to differences in psychosocial, socioeconomic and other environmental factors. The study also sought to determine whether differences in the development of obesity led to Black-white differences in other coronary heart disease risk factors, such as blood pressure and serum lipids. The study has been renewed twice, the last time as an investigator-initiated study. See the National Growth and Health Study for the complete write-up.