Is being fat in your genes?
Genes can be terrible and mean things. They can make you short or bald or give you a couple extra fingers. They can make your arms too short, your torso too big, and now we’re finding that it can even give you a lame personality! But can they make you fat? Do “fat genes” actually run through our blood lines? Well, let’s ask ourselves a few questions and maybe get a few clues.
1. Do some people have a harder time than others getting excess weight to come off?
2. Do some people have a harder time than others keeping the weight off?
3. Have scientists ever found anything that resembles a “fat gene”?
4. If so what were the implications?
5. How do the implications of that “fat gene” compare to reality?
OK let’s have some fun with this. First two questions have very obvious answers. Yes, some people gain weight easier than others and those same people usually have a harder time getting that weight back off their bodies. So far, we’re looking like a “fat gene” is just around the corner!
For the answer to #3 we’ll head back a few years to 2007, when it was reported that scientists from Oxford University found a link between type II diabetes and a gene called the fat mass and obesity associated, or the FTO gene.
In their tests they took a sample of the genome from 2000 type II diabetics as well as 3000 healthy adults and compared them. What they found was that an overwhelming majority of diabetics shared the same FTO gene. Curious about a possible link to obesity, they cross-referenced the same data but found that there was no connection between being overweight and this FTO gene.
Here’s where it gets interesting. After they found no statistical evidence with a 5000 person study that there was any connection to obesity, they decided to compare the data with 37,000 participants from 13 other studies. This time they discovered that the FTO gene has an “obvious” connection to obesity and weight gain.
What were the implications? They found that people with the particular FTO variant weighed approximately 6.6lbs more than those without it. This caused them to be 67% more likely to be obese and 40% more likely to contract type II diabetes. (Notice how there is a greater link to obesity than diabetes but in the first study they could find the link to diabetes but not to obesity? A little strange isn’t it?)
OK so yes science did find a “fat gene” and those are the implications of having it. So now let’s answer the last question of just how the implications of the fat gene compare to reality.
This study was done in the UK so we’re going to use their statistics for this. At the time of this study 1 in 3 women in the UK were considered overweight as well as half of all men! To make matters worse, 1 in every 4 adults were actually considered obese! Let’s go ahead and take a look at the men. The average height for a man in the UK is about 5’10” or 178cm. Now let’s take a look at BMI (body mass index) numbers for someone that is 5’10”…
128lbs or below is considered underweight
129 to 174lbs is considered healthy weight <45lb spread>
175 to 209lbs is considered overweight. <35lb spread>
210lbs or Greater is considered obese.
OK so we know that someone with the active gene should weigh about 6.6lbs more than someone without the active gene which accounts for a 67% greater chance of being obese. Take another look at the numbers above. There is a huge 80lbs spread between the bottom healthy weight and the first tick on the obesity scale. You can be anywhere within that 80lb window and not be obese. You have 45lbs to not even be overweight! Many people aren’t just sitting at the first tick on the obesity scale either. Many of them have far eclipsed it and that number of people is growing daily. The common link between people in this group is more lifestyle than it is genes.
Desperately trying to lose that last 7 pounds for 6-pack abs but his genes are in the way.
In fact, most people that lead active healthy lifestyles can fluctuate 7lbs and not become obese no matter what genes they possess. With current estimations that this gene may actually affect over 50% of us, it’s impossible that this gene just popped up within the last 100 years, yet prior to then, obesity was extremely rare. Honestly it wasn’t until the 1960’s that it really started to skyrocket. It’s not the genes folks. It’s a combination of our food supply and our lifestyles. The only people a gene should be significant to are the ones that want to use this to “prove” to you that you should be on another pill for the rest of your life.
If you want to solve this obesity problem it’s simple. Go back to nature. Stop worrying about calories and fat and carbs and start worrying about eating what nature intended. Meat should be grass fed, fruits and vegetables should be organic, milk should be raw, grains and sugars should be kept to a minimum, soy should be kicked to the curb, processed foods should never be in your home, and most vegetable oils should be eliminated. Add to that some high intensity resistance training with a touch of cardio and you will melt fat from your body.
If this sounds overwhelming to you, I recommend you pick up a copy of my buddy Mike Geary’s program “The Truth About Abs”. There are a million tricks and diets out there in the world that will have you jumping on one foot while rubbing your belly and patting your head and maybe actually knock a few pounds off your body but I can never recommend those programs. Weight loss is not complicated. I’m not saying it’s easy but it’s certainly not complicated. If you follow the simple rules I’ve outlined above, not only will losing weight become a lot easier but you will feel better than you probably ever have. The reason I like Mike’s program is because it is based around the same simple rules. It just serves to give them some structure so you can maximize your results.
Until next time,
Kris
PS: If you like this post, please hit the like button below for Facebook.
Recent Comments