Is it greed or is it genetics? Why are you fat?

NH_Norma

I largely believe it is my emotions that drive my eating, so much so that sometimes I feel I resort to eating whatever mood I am in, like I have conditioned myself to want food in times of happiness, sadness...in fact all emotions apart from anger when in fact I actually just want to clean! I need to be angry more often lol. Could however this still be genetics or am I trying to blame something?

Come on over to my house, I'll piss you off.

wowgirl30

My opinion (I am no expert on anything): Obesity is a problem from too many calories for one's expenditure. To use words like gluttony or greed? unnecessary. Someone who overeats enough to slowly put on 10 pounds a year will be 100 pounds overweight in 10 years and it doesn't take much to do that if you aren't counting calories - a matter of a few extra bites every night. On the other hand, to say that genetics has nothing to do with someone's natural body composition is ignorant. Just look into animal husbandry. Things like how much fat an animal has and where it stores it as well as the quality of muscle is controlled by breeding. Ever seen a Belgian blue aka "super cow"? Do you honestly think it lifts weights to get muscle to build like that? Prized beef has fat marbled throughout the muscle tissue - that too is accomplished through breeding.

The human body is not a closed system. There are so many variables at play when it comes to weight maintenance and body composition. We do have methods to control and even change some of these genetic factors but to say it is all of one or the other is silly. For instance, I can reduce body fat and build muscle in my upper body to give the appearance of a more balanced shape, but it won't change the fact I am genetically a "pear" shape and any body fat stored will be in my hips and thighs before it goes anywhere else. It is also the reason we can't spot reduce and keep fat in our breast tissue while just taking it off the rear end (blast it all). As far a weight management goes, I have known people that struggle so hard day in and out to keep their weight from going out of control and others where their weight just stays the same with no conscious effort to control intake or exercise. I have seen posts on this site that people say weight loss was so easy for them - others who feel like it is trying to get blood from a stone so to speak.

We all need to eat according to what we burn - some people just have to swim against stream while others can just go with the current genetically speaking.

neanderthin

Too much hand to mouth time........not that someone couldn't just drop their face right in it to compensate.:happy:

AliciaNineteen72

I've just watched the programme 'Half Ton Man' and the bloke insists that it wasn't greed that drove him to eat it was genetics. For those science geeks I know all about the hormone Leptin and it's effects of the body but I just wanted to know everyone else's opinion - why do you think you became overweight?

I am not looking to insult or pick a fight with anyone, let's have nice clean conversation.

Me personally? I want to say genetics, my mother's family have struggled with their weight. However, I largely believe it is my emotions that drive my eating, so much so that sometimes I feel I resort to eating whatever mood I am in, like I have conditioned myself to want food in times of happiness, sadness...in fact all emotions apart from anger when in fact I actually just want to clean! I need to be angry more often lol. Could however this still be genetics or am I trying to blame something?

I have much the same situation as you. My mom's side always struggled with weight, but at the same time, I feel it's more my emotions, and I want to eat when happy, sad, etc. My Dad also LOVES to feed people and is just happy when everyone is stuffed!!! It's kind of been my family's way to console each other, celebrate, whatever - LET'S JUST EAT!!!!!!

Littlestandrews

Just to echo the other posters, I believe people learn how and when to (over)eat based on their upbringing.

My experience (and why I partially blame genetics) is all due to height. I'm just shy of 5 feet tall and I met my 5'10 best friend in college. We are the exact same age (born 6 days apart)...

We went to every meal together, we had every class together, if we left campus, it was together...bottomline, we were always together. But she would consistently out eat me and remain thinner. I ate very little and never went drinking. She could drink and eat multiple desserts and never gained an ounce. Also, I played soccer for our school and she never worked out.

Is it fair? No. But I believe (and I could be wrong) that she could eat more because she was tall enough to need more calories and have a faster metabolism. It's the only explanation that made sense to me.

foleyshirley

Mainly me being lazy and eating too much... but my mom is overweight (majorly) and so I have the genetics from both sides too ....

Just because your mom is overweight does not mean genetics. It more than likely is a learned behavior for the most part.

foleyshirley

It has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with conditioning.

We're taught how to eat by our parents. If they consistently overeat then the chances are higher that we will also be taught to overeat.

An example for you...one of my friends was considerably overweight as are her parents. She'd eat junkfood like it was going out of style and she hates most veg & fruit.

Her two year old was with us to celebrate another friend's birthday. The child was acting up and so she reached for some food to calm her. A small bowl of chips was sitting next to a HUGE fruit bouquet. Guess what she gave her kid. Until she realized what she was doing to both herself and her kid, her kid was on her way to being fat before she was out of toddlerhood. Thankfully she did turn it around and now her kids eat healthy snacks and are both normal weight.

So do you believe that hunger pains are the result of learned behavior (i.e. conditioning)?

But sometimes we have a hard time distinguishing hunger from boredom or anxiety. Do it may not be hunger, but a feeling that you need to eat.

foleyshirley

My mom's fat, my brothers are fat and my dad is finally getting there, so I used to think it was genetics. But then I started counting how many calories I was eating and realized that my body just processes them like everyone else, and I eat too much.

Great point here. If family members are fat, it doesn't mean genetics. Much of ou eating habits is learned.

Jormit3

I think that our eating habits are a learned trait. My family's way of celebrating has always been through food. I don't want to place the blame on my parents. They struggle with eating and weight too. Its our entire lifestyle. We're the more of the type to sit around and eat pizza, than to go for a walk. But I have to believe that there is a way to break the chain. We can make habits of eating healthy and getting exercise. This vicious cycle doesn't have to continue.

dellaquilaa

I subscribe to the "genetics loads the gun but lifestyle pulls the trigger" way of thinking. I think my body has a predisposition to being SLIGHTLY heavier, but then I stuffed my face with chips and fast food and made myself obese.

I used to work as a nutritional counselor and honestly, it drove me absolutely crazy when a woman would kick and scream that she's just "big boned" and that her whole family was big, that it's a hereditary issue. And then a dietary assessment would reveal a typical day totalling more than 3500 calories *sigh* I really think we all just need to be honest with ourselves.

Julia_is_tracking

uneducated about nutrition growing up. As an adult I've had to learn how to eat right. I also never was very sporty or active!

HeyGoRun

My mom has always been naturally thin my sisters were thin during childhood we all ate the same food but i just like more! I think i would eat when everyone was sleeping, so not genetic for me, i wish!! My school days suck, my sisters were Very popular good thing we were not at the same school at the same time!

maria0104

Controversial but I whole heartedly believe in this article, which is brilliant

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9049971/the-battle-of-the-bulge/

alisonlynn1976

Where I carry my extra weight is genetic, but I gained too much based on my own calories in vs. calories out choices.

Things like basal metabolic rate and hormones that influence satiety are also genetic, but they don't make as big of a difference as some want to claim. Having "bad" genes for these things make maintaining a healthy weight a little harder, but not a lot harder and definitely not impossible.

slouw10

mine...lazy not excersizing and then also greed - over eating. Can not blame genetics on my part...

bcattoes

I'm not fat anymore, but for me it was neither greed nor genetics. It was laziness, pure and simple. It's hard to eat little enough to maintain weight while being sedentary. Too hard for me.

bcattoes

It has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with conditioning.

We're taught how to eat by our parents. If they consistently overeat then the chances are higher that we will also be taught to overeat.

When you say "we" your beginning statement is not true. Genes do play a role for some. In very rare cases genes can even cause obesity. But for others it just makes it more likely. It means they have to work harder than others to prevent it. But to say that genetics has nothing to do with it for everyone is false.

vampirequeen1959

I think it's a mixture of nature and nurture. Some people can eat a lot and not gain weight whilst others seem to gain it more easily. If there is a predisposition to gain weight then nurture can become an issue. I grew up in a waste not want not family so food was never left on the plate. The same went for school dinners. We were forced to sit at the table until the meal was eaten. Eating everything gained positive affirmation from adults. A good child was a good eater. Food was also a reward and a comforter. So I grew up with a very unhealthy relationship with food which has carried on into my adult life and affected my weight accordingly.

Tiff050709

While my mother and grandmother are overweight, I wouldn't say I am because of genetics. I had a very healthy weight growing up. It wasn't until I got diagnosed with depression in my late teens that I slowly started gaining weight. Then I got pregnant and never lost the weight, follow that with 2 more pregnancies and not losing weight. By then I felt very terrible about myself and would just eat more because I felt like I could never change anyway. Tried a lot of times to lose weight and it never stuck. Even tried outdated crazy diet that my mom did. I def think it's my emotions that caused me to gain. Funny enough, I start losing weight and I can control them much better.

neandermagnon

I've just watched the programme 'Half Ton Man' and the bloke insists that it wasn't greed that drove him to eat it was genetics. For those science geeks I know all about the hormone Leptin and it's effects of the body but I just wanted to know everyone else's opinion - why do you think you became overweight?

I am not looking to insult or pick a fight with anyone, let's have nice clean conversation.

Me personally? I want to say genetics, my mother's family have struggled with their weight. However, I largely believe it is my emotions that drive my eating, so much so that sometimes I feel I resort to eating whatever mood I am in, like I have conditioned myself to want food in times of happiness, sadness...in fact all emotions apart from anger when in fact I actually just want to clean! I need to be angry more often lol. Could however this still be genetics or am I trying to blame something?

in the case of people who are hugely obese, as in have to be lifted from their home by a crane or forklift to get them to hospital kind of obese, there probably is some genetic or other condition, because it's actually really hard to eat enough food to get into that state. it's possibly some issue with the hypothalamus, i.e. the part of the brain that controls appetite regulation, so they eat and eat and eat and eat and always feel hungry even after eating enough food to make anyone else feel nauseous.

some other people probably do have genetic factors that predispose them to obesity, but the main cause of obesity is that people eat too much and don't do enough exercise.

even when there is a genetic condition or pre-disposition to obesity, you still can't get obese without a calorie surplus. Genetic predisposition probably causes people to overeat more often, e.g. they don't feel full until they've overeaten, or something. Thyroid problems mean that the metabolism is slow so someone can get full eating what would be a normal amount of food for someone else. This needs to be treated as there are numerous medical complications of thyroid problems. Becoming obese isn't the only consequence of it.

So anyway, like most things, it's a mixture of genetic and non-genetic factors... but for most people the main reason is non-genetic factors. I used to be obese, I'm not going to kid myself that it was from any reason other than eating too much and not exercising enough.