If you’re like many people in Livermore, CA, you’ve heard the latest scientific discovery linking a genetic factor to the potential of becoming obese. While genetic makeup dramatically affects your future, it doesn’t seal your fate. A predisposition means you must work harder and be more careful with your diet and other lifestyle options. Scientists recently analyzed human genome sections affecting body weight in four hundred thousand people. The people in the top 10% containing those markers were 25 times more likely to become severely obese than those in the bottom 10%.
It doesn’t mean you have to become obese.
Even if you have all the markers of obesity, your lifestyle plays an important role. While it doesn’t seem fair, people with the genetic markers of obesity have to be more careful and live a healthier lifestyle than those that don’t have the markers. It also doesn’t mean that someone with few genetic markers can avoid obesity if they live only on pastry, snack food, and other foods high in empty calories.
Your lifestyle plays a critical role.
There’s always been a debate about nature vs nurture. Which one plays the most important role in all facets of life? For obesity, it looks like it’s a 50/50 split. You inherit the genes that provide a predisposition to obesity, but after that, it’s your lifestyle that determines your outcome. It explains why two people in the same family can have very different body shapes and weights.
Just because you have a genetic predisposition toward obesity, it doesn’t make it bad.
Genes linked to excess body fat may protect the body from other health issues. Scientists also discovered 62 sections of markers that were associated with both a lower risk of heart disease and a higher risk of excess body fat. There was a difference between healthy fat cells and unhealthy ones. The key was the fat created, how the fat was distributed, and the regulation of inflammation and energy. It explains why about 45% of the people who are obese maintain healthy blood pressure, lipid levels, and glucose levels and remain relatively healthy.
- Even if you don’t have genetic markers for obesity, you aren’t out of the woods. In the study of genetics, people without the genetic markers of obesity still developed it. That places the burden back on lifestyle.
- Early childhood plays a role, particularly when it comes to health interventions. It doesn’t mean adults can’t change their future. It’s just easier when you learn healthier options early in life.
- Even if you do have the genetic markers to improve heart health, people with obesity face a 72% higher risk for diabetes, increase the risk of high blood pressure by 38%, and are 34% more likely to develop heart failure.
- Our personal trainers at LIV Fitness can help you develop a personalized plan for a healthier life, whether you have a predisposition to obesity or not. It’s all about you, your goals, and present fitness level.
For more information, contact us today at LIV Fitness