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NYT article about obesity stating it's genetic, not lack of willpower
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I have a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's, but am doing everything I can to counter it. There is good research out there regarding this: exercise, food choices and mental activity. Doing great so far!
I also have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol and I have that one beat!
I'm short. So I wear high heels!
Genetics aren't necessarily destiny. We have more control over some things than we think.13 -
This is interesting because my obese husband is the same exact way! Gets panicky if a few hours go by without eating. I can go 6 hours if I have to, I know the food will be there.Somewhat germane: my ex-wife, who was overweight, would absolutely FREAK THE *KITTEN* OUT if more than say 4 hours had passed since her last meal. Timing foods throughout the day was a tremendous source of stress -- for both of us!!! Any vacation, day trip, or the like, the first thing we had to do was figure out where, when and what to eat so that the terrible 4-hour mark would not be breached.
My point is: three squares and two snacks is a relatively modern concept. And millions (billions?) of people don't even enjoy it today. So, how would my ex have survived 500 years ago? Or in a hunter gatherer society? (Ok, enough vitriol against the ex. Lol.)
We live in a time and place of such plenty that I think our expectations have gone totally out of whack.
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Thank goodness I don't have bp issues, so much salt in here1
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There is a large body of research looking at accuracy of self-reported intakes. They consistently find there is a large amount of under reporting.
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/y90-143#.WTB36k2GPIU
From the abstract: Obese populations demonstrated the largest mean differences (−35 and −50%).
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v22/n4/pdf/0800584a.pdf?origin=publication_detail
From the abstract: Reported total daily energy intake was signi®cantly lower than measured intake.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19094249
From the abstract: Women are more likely to under-report than men, and under-reporting is more common among overweight and obese individuals.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199212313272701#t=article
From the article: The energy intake reported by the subjects in group 1 during the 14-day study period was 1028±148 kcal per day, whereas their actual energy intake was 2081±522 kcal per day. Thus, these subjects significantly (P<0.05) underreported their energy intake by a group mean of 1053 kcal per day, or a mean for individual subjects of 47±16 percent.
I do believe genetics play some role and believe some genes have been identified to predispose individuals to obesity. I don’t believe these genes gain weight from nothing, but perhaps prevent a release of hormones that cause satiety or interfere with the satiety centers in the brain, causing someone to still feel hungry even if they have eaten enough calories. I cannot imagine how much of a struggle that must be to always feel hungry even if you have eaten enough calories. Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3137002/
However, it is a huge disservice to everyone trying to improve their health by losing weight to tell them that it is genetic. When I hear someone say it is weight is genetics, it sounds to me like they are being told to give up and nothing they will ever do will make a difference, it is fate. This is so discouraging and more importantly it is simply not true.
Also, no one’s metabolism becomes damaged from losing weight. The National Weight Control Registry compared metabolisms of those who had lost weight and those who had never lost weight and this is what they found:
RESULTS:
A stepwise multiple regression found lean mass, fat mass, age, and sex to be the best predictors of RMR in both groups. After adjusting RMR for these variables, we found no significant difference in RMR (5926 +/- 106 and 6015 +/- 104 kJ/d) between the 2 groups (P = 0.35). When we adjusted fasting RQ for percentage body fat and age, the reduced-obese group had a slightly higher (0.807 +/- 0.006) RQ than the control group (0.791 +/- 0.005, P = 0.05). This may have been due to the consumption of a diet lower in fat or to a reduced capacity for fat oxidation in the reduced-obese group.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10357738?dopt=Abstract
This made me laugh out loud!mrsnattybulking wrote: »Thank goodness I don't have bp issues, so much salt in here
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in_the_stars wrote: »
Oh! Viruses. Adenoviruses?
Hmm... haven't looked at the research in years. Obesity MIGHT be contagious.
I'm off to wash my hands.
Filovirus - ancient and one of the reasons this little bug has such a high mortality rate. Seeing the impact firsthand is quite frankly terrifying. This is what steered me into microbiology.
Oh, I know! I'm sorry, I worded that badly. I agree with you. I've been intrigued by the research for years but haven't done any work in that area.
Too many years from what a search of my old posts here shows!*To be honest though, I think in certain cases obesity might be related to viruses, microbes, bacterium, and such. adenovirus -36? Methyl markers aren't the only way genes are turned on or off. Promoters and repressors that regulate how much a gene expresses itself into mRNA? and then translating into a protein?2 -
in_the_stars wrote: »in_the_stars wrote: »
Oh! Viruses. Adenoviruses?
Hmm... haven't looked at the research in years. Obesity MIGHT be contagious.
I'm off to wash my hands.
Filovirus - ancient and one of the reasons this little bug has such a high mortality rate. Seeing the impact firsthand is quite frankly terrifying. This is what steered me into microbiology.
Oh, I know! I'm sorry, I worded that badly. I agree with you. I've been intrigued by the research for years but haven't done any work in that area.
Too many years from what a search of my old posts here shows!*To be honest though, I think in certain cases obesity might be related to viruses, microbes, bacterium, and such. adenovirus -36? Methyl markers aren't the only way genes are turned on or off. Promoters and repressors that regulate how much a gene expresses itself into mRNA? and then translating into a protein?
I figured as much and hope this wasn't condescending. My first introduction was "The Hot Zone" - Richard Preston (1994) and these bugs just amazed me. When serving in the Navy I was detached to manage security for a CDC team aiding the Marburg outbreak in DR Congo. That put me over the top and I changed directions - enrolling in graduate studies for micro two years later.4 -
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in_the_stars wrote: »in_the_stars wrote: »
Oh! Viruses. Adenoviruses?
Hmm... haven't looked at the research in years. Obesity MIGHT be contagious.
I'm off to wash my hands.
Filovirus - ancient and one of the reasons this little bug has such a high mortality rate. Seeing the impact firsthand is quite frankly terrifying. This is what steered me into microbiology.
Oh, I know! I'm sorry, I worded that badly. I agree with you. I've been intrigued by the research for years but haven't done any work in that area.
Too many years from what a search of my old posts here shows!*To be honest though, I think in certain cases obesity might be related to viruses, microbes, bacterium, and such. adenovirus -36? Methyl markers aren't the only way genes are turned on or off. Promoters and repressors that regulate how much a gene expresses itself into mRNA? and then translating into a protein?
I figured as much and hope this wasn't condescending. My first introduction was "The Hot Zone" - Richard Preston (1994) and these bugs just amazed me. When serving in the Navy I was detached to manage security for a CDC team aiding the Marburg outbreak in DR Congo. That put me over the top and I changed directions - enrolling in graduate studies for micro two years later.
That book and Demon in the Freezer almost gave me nightmares. (The things we research for fanfiction purposes...)2 -
I do believe genetics play some role and believe some genes have been identified to predispose individuals to obesity. I don’t believe these genes gain weight from nothing, but perhaps prevent a release of hormones that cause satiety or interfere with the satiety centers in the brain, causing someone to still feel hungry even if they have eaten enough calories. I cannot imagine how much of a struggle that must be to always feel hungry even if you have eaten enough calories. Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3137002/
However, it is a huge disservice to everyone trying to improve their health by losing weight to tell them that it is genetic. When I hear someone say it is weight is genetics, it sounds to me like they are being told to give up and nothing they will ever do will make a difference, it is fate. This is so discouraging and more importantly it is simply not true.
I agree with you. Obesity is a very complex subject with many mitigating factors that vary per individual; its way more than pop culture's opinion that it all boils down to gluttony and laziness, which I see so much of across the net in various forums and comments. Flinging the idea into someones face that they can't learn to be happy with themselves because they are "unhealthy" is counterproductive and downright rude, and telling them to just "stop stuffing their face and get off the couch" is insensitive at best and demeaning and showing a complete lack of empathy or understanding of the difficulties that individual is facing. For many folks the problem is more mental than physical, true, but those mental blocks and barriers are extremely power and are NOT easy to overcome. A little understanding would go a long way.
That being said, genetics and biological and mental factors do not make it absolutely impossible to lose weight - unlike what my old endo told me when I was diagnosed with PCOS......CICO does work; the problem comes in on trying to find out where that balances out for you, and that balance is highly, highly individualistic. so I totally agree that it is denial and a refusal to even try if someone just says "I'm genetically prone to obesity and can't do anything about it" and just give up. Having a defeatist mentality will get you no where.
I do think the problem is that society wants a one size fits all solution, and a generic formula that will encompass the entire human population. I prefer to have many options available myself.3 -
estherdragonbat wrote: »in_the_stars wrote: »in_the_stars wrote: »
Oh! Viruses. Adenoviruses?
Hmm... haven't looked at the research in years. Obesity MIGHT be contagious.
I'm off to wash my hands.
Filovirus - ancient and one of the reasons this little bug has such a high mortality rate. Seeing the impact firsthand is quite frankly terrifying. This is what steered me into microbiology.
Oh, I know! I'm sorry, I worded that badly. I agree with you. I've been intrigued by the research for years but haven't done any work in that area.
Too many years from what a search of my old posts here shows!*To be honest though, I think in certain cases obesity might be related to viruses, microbes, bacterium, and such. adenovirus -36? Methyl markers aren't the only way genes are turned on or off. Promoters and repressors that regulate how much a gene expresses itself into mRNA? and then translating into a protein?
I figured as much and hope this wasn't condescending. My first introduction was "The Hot Zone" - Richard Preston (1994) and these bugs just amazed me. When serving in the Navy I was detached to manage security for a CDC team aiding the Marburg outbreak in DR Congo. That put me over the top and I changed directions - enrolling in graduate studies for micro two years later.
That book and Demon in the Freezer almost gave me nightmares. (The things we research for fanfiction purposes...)
Demon in the Freezer is one of my favorites. I give a few copies away each semester to my microbiology students.4 -
My last name literally means pot-bellied (fat in the stomach area) and many of my family members are overweight. Though every single member of my family is able to and had lost weight at one point in there lives or another.
Weight is about eating habits and our environment. In some cases people may have a real medical condition but they are few and far between.
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I don't believe obesity itself is genetic.. That will always come down to eating too many calories. I believe the addiction to food can be genetic, however. Just like alcoholics producing kids that may be more susceptible to the allure of alcohol.. Some people just have an addictive nature.
Can it be overcome? Well, that's what AA is for.. to help alcoholics over come their addictions and hold themselves accountable.. Food is no different. But just like alcoholics, you can't blame your predicament on a gene or person or some other BS excuse (like slow metabolism lies) to justify that addiction or you will never be able to overcome that addiction. You begin to rise above once you take responsibility for your own actions.
Every woman on my dads side and on my moms side are stage 3 Obese.. And seeing as how they are all from the same generation who came up with the BS pseudoscience lies of slow metabolisms and stretched stomachs or destroyed metabolisms.. they ALL make excuses for their weight issues and refuse to listen to reason. They all consume over 3k calories a day. They are addicted to food. But you can't tell them that! It's genetic! They can't help it! It's the curse of every woman on their side of the family! They are big boned! They starved themselves in their 20's and permanently destroyed their metabolism!
Pfft.. OK.. Then prove it by cutting calories! Nope.. they won't make themselves miserable when they are so sure of the facts.
Obesity isn't genetic, or Americans would have had FAT ancestors!3
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