Your Genes Do Not Doom You to be Fat

There are certain things in life over which you have no control and one of those things is your genes. You came into this world with a unique set of genes that you inherited from both your parents. Genes determine such things as the color of your eyes and your hair. Scientists have also discovered that genes influence how much you weigh by controlling how fast your metabolism runs, how much lean body mass you inherit, and how much of a "fidgeter" you are (fidgeting is spontaneous physical movement done without thinking such as jiggling your leg). It seems that you are born with the tendency to be overweight, of a normal weight or underweight. Thus, there are families whose members are all overweight or are all slim.

At the extreme end of the spectrum, there are people who can eat all the junk food they want and never exercise. Not only don't they gain weight but they also have normal cholesterol levels, normal blood pressure, healthy hearts etc. These people have inherited exceptionally good genes that allow them to live physically abusive lifestyles and yet remain healthy. I have read about people who have drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes almost all their adult lives and still reach the ripe old age of ninety-plus.

Most people are in the middle range of "normal" genes. If you live a healthy lifestyle, you remain healthy. If you abuse your body, your health suffers. If you overeat, you gain weight.

At the other extreme end of this spectrum are the people who have inherited 'deadly' genes that put them at high risk for obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Even if they live normal lifestyles, they still have these conditions to contend with. They may have to take extraordinary measures like medication and special diets to prevent their genetic risks.

Of course, this is a very simplistic representation of the human race. There are all types of combinations of genes. For example, you can inherit the tendency to gain weight but also inherit good genes that keep your blood pressure and cholesterol at normal levels.

The bad news is you cannot control the genes your parents handed down to you at birth. We all have to live within our genetic potential. There is only so much we can change about our body. However, this doesn't mean the situation is hopeless and we can only throw our hands up in despair. The good news, scientists tell us, is that genes do not have to plot the course of our destiny. The way we live also plays an important role.

Lifestyle plays a big role.
According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the genetic tendency to be obese doesn't automatically mean you will be obese. The scientists compared 350 female twins and discovered that the sister who was more physically active was slimmer than the sister who was sedentary. This was in spite of the fact that all the twins had a high genetic tendency to be overweight. The lifestyle of exercising regularly made all the difference. The researchers also discovered that the more active the woman, the greater her chance of staying slim.

Dr. David West, a geneticist and obesity physician, told Time Magazine ("Why We Get Fat.", Shawna Vogel, April 1999) that "some people have the good genes, some people don't". However, West says that most people don't get fat unless they follow a certain lifestyle.

Dr. Claude Bouchard of Laval University, Canada, has studied genes and obesity for 15 years. He is the author of a landmark study in 1990 that showed that there is a strong genetic component to weight gain. He reminded Time readers that "lifestyle factors such as diet and activity also play important roles in how much you weigh". In other words, just because you have a tendency to be overweight, it doesn't mean that you can't do anything about it.

Research on Pima Indians
Someone once said that "genes cock the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger". The best example of this expression is the Pima Indian. Dr. Eric Ravussin has spent many years investigating why 75% of all Pima Indians in Arizona, USA, are obese by the time they are in their twenties while their cousins, the Pima Indians in Mexico, weigh about fifty pounds less.

Dr. Ravussin theorized that the Arizona and Mexico Pima Indian groups both have what is called the "thrifty gene" (actually a set of many different genes). The thrifty gene probably developed in response to harsh living conditions. A person who was very efficient at storing fat would have survived in conditions where food was hard to come by and strenuous physical work was common. Under those conditions, a thrifty gene would be an asset and could mean the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, in today's modern world of abundant food and laborsaving devices, the thrifty gene becomes a health hazard and leads to obesity.

The Arizona Pima Indians are overweight because they live in today's world where food is available simply by buying it and where one can make a living by doing nothing else but punching keys on a computer terminal. The Mexico Pima Indians are slim because they live in a world very similar to their ancestors where the men average 40 hours a week of hard physical work and the women 90 hours a week of old-fashioned backbreaking household chores. Their diets consist of tortillas, vegetables and a little meat. Fat only makes 23% of their daily diet.

Modify your lifestyle.
Since "the environment is the switch that turns on the genetic time bomb" (Dr. Steven Heymsfield, American Health Magazine), it is imperative that someone with a tendency to being overweight modify their lifestyle. If you are this type of a person, step one would be to accept, without bitterness, that you cannot live the same lifestyle as your naturally thin friends.

As Mazie Herr, 60, of Arizona, told writer Peter Jaret ("Weight Loss Answers from the Calorie Lab", Health Magazine), "What a revelation that was (to discover that she had a slow fat burning metabolism). It must be the way an alcoholic feels about alcohol. I suddenly understood that I couldn't handle fatty foods - that fat makes me fat. All the talk about low-fat diets didn't make sense until I knew that about myself". Armed with that knowledge, Herr then proceeded to change her lifestyle. She ate a low-fat diet and became an avid walker. She lost 70 pounds in a year's time and, at the time of the interview, had kept the weight off for four years.

So, just like a recovering alcoholic shouldn't drink alcohol, a person with a tendency to become fat easily should not make rich desserts and fried food a regular part of his or her daily diet. A person with 'thin' genes can easily burn off high-calorie foods through a naturally faster metabolism but these kind of foods will just go straight to the fat cells of a person with 'fat' genes. Consistent exercise is a must as well as making an effort to become more physically active in all areas of life. For example, taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

By making the necessary sacrifices like the individual mentioned above, even someone who has the genetic tendency to become obese can change his or her destiny. You may never become as slim as a model, but you don't have to be so overweight that it hampers your movement or harms your health. Your genes do not doom you to be fat but your lifestyle choices will.

Continue reading here: Non-Fat Does Not Equal Zero Calories!

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