Is WEIGHT GAIN caused by genetics or not? **For my Paper**

devil_in_a_blue_dress

That you would take to MPF forums **for your paper** pains me on an academic level.

vim_n_vigor

I'm writing an English paper and my thesis is defending the idea that gaining weight is not ruled by genetics but I'd like to see some of you all's opinions and if you have references or links to data, that would be appreciated. What do you think? Is it's genetics fault or other factors?


These are the points I'm addressing in the paper:

Thesis: While genetics play a role in how quickly food is processed and where is is lost first when one loses weight, it is in no way associated with weight gain.
Point one: Genetics play a role in an individual’s “ideal weight,” not how much they gain.
Point two: Weight gain is caused by increased caloric intake; if you eat more than you burn, you gain weight, if you eat less, you lose it.
Point three: Many people focus on blaming genetics when they do not want to put in the effort it takes to lose weight or to maintain weight loss.

I didn't read all the responses, but I take issue with your thesis. If you contend that genetically-controlled variables can affect metabolism, I think you've bound yourself to accepting that they can affect both weight loss and gain. You're tip toeing around your real thesis, which is more in line with your third point. That being the case, it's really just an issue of stats. What medical conditions (related to genetics or not) hamper people's attempts to lose weight, which does happen, and what percentage of the population is affected.

It's really just a thinly veiled way of saying, "Put down the fork."

A more interesting topic might be looking at why people don't put down the fork. It's not a simple one, and you'd need to narrow the scope.
-Are there psychological issues at play?
-is there a lack of knowledge?
-are there cultural influences going on?

It seems like there's a fine line between placing blame/personal responsibility and doing a realistic root cause analysis for an individual's behaviors.

This

BusyRaeNOTBusty

My parents were overweight. My mother had diabetes, they both had high blood pressure.
2 of my 4 siblings were overweight as children.
3 of my siblings are currently overweight, 2 of them have dangerously high blood pressure, one of which is only 30.
My maternal grandparents were both over weight, both with diabetes, and high blood pressure, my grandfather suffered a serious stroke.
My paternal grandmother also had high blood pressure and a minor stroke.

Several of my first cousins are not just overweight but morbidly obese, all under 40.


I have never been more than a few pounds overweight and that was related to pregnancies, and honestly it hasn't been that hard to maintain a healthy weight. I do have borderline high blood pressure though, which sucks.

So maybe there is some genetic predisposition but my genetics did not "make" me fat, obviously.

RHachicho

Here is my two cents on the issue

No I do not believe that weight gain is genetic however it absolutely CAN run in families. Since it is our parents that feed us their eating habits become ours and not only that if any of our eating habits are a bit off in young life it can create metabolic tendencies that cause this kind of syndrome. I think for me it was because my parents grew up at the end of rationing after the second world war. When food was still fairly scarce. Back then people had to feed their families with less food and this means stuffing them up with easily metabolized carbs and saturated fats. Back then this was countered by the fact that they walked and generally exercised a hell of a lot more than we do these days. But with the arrival of the information age BOOM! everyone's waist lines suddenly ride off into the horizon. I know people say that body comp is mostly what we eat but when you regularly burn at least 1000 extra calories a day ... it helps.

Okay okay I'm over dramatizing point is I had to re work my attitude to what constituted a good meal and when and what to eat. As well as making room for exercise in my life. My parents never really had to look for exercise it was just .. necessary. And yes once my mother got older and became sedentary she kind of ballooned as well. A fate I would like to avoid.

FatFreeFrolicking

My parents were overweight. My mother had diabetes, they both had high blood pressure.
2 of my 4 siblings were overweight as children.
3 of my siblings are currently overweight, 2 of them have dangerously high blood pressure, one of which is only 30.
My maternal grandparents were both over weight, both with diabetes, and high blood pressure, my grandfather suffered a serious stroke.
My paternal grandmother also had high blood pressure and a minor stroke.

Several of my first cousins are not just overweight but morbidly obese, all under 40.


I have never been more than a few pounds overweight and that was related to pregnancies, and honestly it hasn't been that hard to maintain a healthy weight. I do have borderline high blood pressure though, which sucks.

So maybe there is some genetic predisposition but my genetics did not "make" me fat, obviously.

This.

There is most definitely a predisposition to being obese but it's all about the choices you make and the lifestyle you choose to live that ultimately determines whether you will become a statistic or not.

MrsRatfire

Am I out of line here? I do not want to ruffle any more feathers than I did. Is the posting of the picture of the obese woman with the open refrigerator rather unkind? I did report the post. Maybe it is me- I have been wrong a whole bunch today.

Well one thing for sure, if anyone is still reading this long, you can see many people believe these disorders do not exist. Even if you tell them, and even if you posted two websites on ONE disorder- that has a dozen listed variations. I can prove it scientifically, and there will be MANY people who will still think I am not sick and I am making the existence of the matter up, or something. We are so socialized in the world that it is OK to brand heavy people as BAD- something to pin names on or simply discredit at once…..many of you do understand as you have fought weight your whole life. I can't imagine after the postings, including the two medical description web sites, that there is still controversy. But you see it. yes there are genetic issues- yes they do exist. Yes, some of these diseases do cause weight.

That is one of the reasons it is so difficult to get treatment for these disorders or medications. There are so few doctors. In NE OH, Cleveland Cliic land, as well as Case Medical School with University Hospitals, there are 3 doctors- in the entire state and all of them are in my area. 2 will only see children and both of these at this time, are refusing more patients.

It took me 6 years to find a doctor to see me. When he agreed, I waited 11 months to see him he takes no appointments. he calls you and tells you he wants to see you. There is no ongoing care - only response to symptoms such as, heart or liver failure. My doctor, geneticist, is a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic- he only sees patients once a week, and he turns over all on-going care to your other MD's. In this case, my neurologist, my regular MD and my pain management specialist. As the problems progress, we all add different specialists to our list. I also have a hematologist. Metabolism can impact, negatively, ANYTHING in your body. Including blood production.

As you can see by the posts, no matter what disease you have, if you say the word genetics or metabolism,or weight issues due to medical reasons, expect a back lash. And many of you were so kind, and I again thank you.

There are thousands and thousands of us. Not all of us are in a wheel chair so it is not obvious. I know a woman with an FOD who has fought her way out of a wheel chair 3 times. She is amazing. She is ill again, but still fighting. She has some extra weight on her. Should I copy the post of the obese woman in the refrigerator to here saying "Here are my genetics" in an e-mail?

If you are reading this and the photo I am referencing is gone, it is because I reported it. Thanks again to all of you.

120by30

I believe this picture was posted as a general jab at the entire topic - not in response to you. I think most people will agree that there are some genetic disorders that cause weight problems. The problem is, these genetic disorders are rare, but obesity is everywhere. So many are so quick to blame genetics. But just because an entire family is overweight does not mean their weight is a gene issue. If every member of the family were to keep an honest food journal, then their eyes would be opened to the problem. Genetics are used as a cop-out far too often.

As a side note though, I'm very sorry for what you go through every day.

in_the_stars

Methyl effects change and take place before birth. Epigenetic changes occur throughout life. The placement of methyl markers turns some genes off and other genes on.

geebusuk

If you have an endocrine disorder (PCOS, insulin resistance, diabetes, Hashimoto's, etc.), weight gain still happens even if the person is burning more calories than they are consuming.

No.

If that was the case, these bodies would have solved the world's energy problem by actually creating energy while starving themselves.

In these cases the body burns LESS, but people typically use a generic calculator which doesn't take account of their condition.

They don't realise that their body has a reduced BMR, so continue to eat more calories than their body needs.

The simplest way to work out deficit or surplus in such situations is to average out long term body weight tracking. If it's going up, you are in a surplus, not a deficit. You have more going in than coming out.

_HeartsOnFire_

No, it was caused because I couldn't stop putting food or alcohol in my mouth.

Genetics didn't make me have an emotional eating habit. Family trauma at a young age did.

MrsRatfire

the last one I did was on the result of school uniforms in public schools. There was an abstract in Long Beach California about what happened to the Algebra grades and drop -out rates after just one year of uniforms. Long Beach was the first public school district to adopt them. Philidelphia was another large metro area that had converted, at least when I wrote the paper. In the year I wrote it, the drop out rate in Detroit was 75% and the drop out rate in Cleveland was 55%. At the time of the paper, Cleveland was transitioning into school uniforms. I do not know if Detroit ever dis and have these numbers changed. I starred that school uniforms are beneficial for public schools and why, and then I defended it. It was fairly easy to write as I found references in the college library data bases, but I did not have so many, it was too overwhelming to sort. And I do believe and still do, that high school drop out is a major concern for our country. Good luck! Thanks for posting.

You can still write about calorie count, weight control, fitness- it does not make the topic wrong. Genetics is too vast to include. As you need a topic with something you can state and defend, I guess weight issues is too general. Maybe narrow down your health interest. As you need references from things that will come up in a college library, not Ask.Com, look for references to proposed topics there. Your paper will be much easier to write if you know you have the references to back it. That is how I wrote English papers- I went to the data base and looked at abstracts and articles. If I found something well supported and not overly complex for me, I wrote that. It was easier to find my topic by locating references first. After all, I was not a scientist, I just wanted to get an "A" and make it easy on myself.

Genetics controls everything. Going to war against genetics in a paper is pretty pointless.

Normal systems provide normal results for input/output. Those normal results are directly controlled by genetics. Abnormal results are as well.

What do you suggest I write about?

@everything else: Aside from the side debate about rare disorders, lol, this thread is extremely helpful!

@Determinedbutlazy- I figured that picture would pop up in here lol

_KitKat_

Am I out of line here? I do not want to ruffle any more feathers than I did. Is the posting of the picture of the obese woman with the open refrigerator rather unkind? I did report the post. Maybe it is me- I have been wrong a whole bunch today.

I did see your posts and it was appreciated. That picture was probably in bad taste, but this is a public forum and people will post things we don't all like.

As for public perception, the truth is 99% of people that blame weight on metabolism are making excuses for themselves or more blatantly lying and not taking responsibility. Especially on a fitness website, people get frustrated and just want others to look in the mirror and own their actions. I am not an addict but don't people with drinking and drug problems first need to admit their problem before they can recover, not place blame on others or predisposition. I do not think anyone meant insult to you, I do think because of past slights you may have experienced you read insult where it is not present. This in no way makes insulting someone with a real issue valid it just helps explain why many feel immediately defensive, in a way blaming someones weight on genetics takes away from the effort and work that someone has done that owns their actions.

As to the OP, this topic is obviously complex but you are writing an english paper, so the majority would be what your paper would mostly speak to with a mention of the out-liners to the equation. Also a quick point my genetics effect my weight...I am female and damn men normally have an easier time losing weight :grumble: that is proven, but it is a slight variation and since I have never been a man it has no effect on me, I never was able to lose like a man and never will be able to, so as a woman I adjust just as those with slight genetic differences would.

MrsRatfire

Agreed. They are used too often. And yes, that is why I use this site. For meticulous tracking. I really am in the "diet or die" life. My symptoms have progressed and do involve all foods.

When we think about MD we all immediately thing of the telethon and children in wheel chairs. Many forms of MD are metabolic. Probably not all of them. If the picture is ok for THIS conversation, then I guess the posting person should also be sending it to all of the crippled children with MD. Maybe a photo of a kid falling out of a wheel chair and flopping on the floor! That is hilarious!

You see- no one would do that. In fact many people who are reading this are probably again, frustrated with me that I can't take a joke. Would you joke about gong dancing to a child in wheel chair? The thread asked about genetics and weight. Obviously, I would know a lot about the topic. It was asked, and I answered.

By the way, I may need a liver transplant….would the person who posted the picture mind getting tested and giving me theirs if we match ? I would appreciate it. Oh, and I could be in the market for a kidney and a heart if anyone see's one on Craig's List. See, I can joke! I think the person who posted the photo would make a fine organ donor! that would be a worthy contribution to the cause of these diseases rather than the photo. And you thought I could not joke! Of course I can. With the best of them. I was a stand-up comic for 15 years-toured. I could kick verbal butt beyond what any of you could imagine. But i would be kicked off the site for it, no doubt. Just as the use of this photo in this context, should be removed. We will both get kicked off for it no doubt, but if the photo poster wants to take another jab, go ahead. I will be happy to insult you back!

MrsRatfire

Thank you for the kind words. I do think the person posting will serve a great purpose to my cause someday…..I think they would make a fine organ donor!

MrsRatfire

I will look up the link.. As I have a few genetic diseases, they usually interest me. I am not a scientist like you- i was the unwilling learner on the topic! Thank you.
Hey All!!!

I am a biologist in the UK. I thought you'd be interested in a new area of genetic biology called epigenetics. To put it simply epigenetics shows that while something, like being fat , is not part of your genetic data (which it isnt the vast majority of the time), it can actually be hereditary. If you are doing a paper on weight gain and inheritance then studies into epigenetics are a must! It is a very very new area of genetics so most of the research is in the newborn stage but it is something to consider.

While most of the time it is true that its input vs output there are also some rare genetic/thyroid conditions that can cause excessive weight gain and loss. Although most of these tend not be hereditary and are a single mutation within a single individual.

For all who are interested I have attached the wiki link to epigenetics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics

_KitKat_

@MrsRatFire

No defending the picture, people do cruel things and yes some of those people would post a pic of a disabled child and make fun. People are cruel and in a public internet forum they remain anonymous thus posting things before they may have thought it through. In a public forum you must not assume remarks are aimed at you and even if they are, feel sorry for the ignorant soul that insulted you. On MFP you will see many threads and posts about how people are blameless on why they can not lose weight, it gets old and the insults are directed at those people and the subject in general, not ever to those rare few who suffer from an actual condition. It may not be right but unfortunately it is the way it is. Ignore the comments that bother you the best you can and just take part in the conversation, you provided a lot of new information to many in this thread.

I will also go a step further and state that while I would never insult a morbidly obese individual, I do have a hard time understanding since this is the first time in my life I have ever had to even think about my weight. My views or comments in the past and even in the present may insult some, that is never my intent but when someone has little understanding of a condition, they do not always come off as empathetic.

rosebette

I believe that it can be genetic. My husband comes from a family that is heavy with a tendency toward diabetes, which he has now. My daughter is a larger build and tends to be a bit over her BMI, as does one of my sons. While my husband has been a big eater, I've seen the way other guys eat, and they aren't that heavy. In fact, at home, he eats exactly what I eat, so he should be losing tons, but he doesn't.

My own family consists of small people. I am the "fattest" person in my family of origin, and the heaviest I've been is around 140-145 at a height of 5'2". I'm currently around 120 and still heavier than my mother and my sister. My father, God rest his soul, used to eat dessert every night and mountains of potatoes. He lived to be 86 and never weighed more than 150. My mom still wears a size 6 and always has cookies and ice cream in her house. We all have high cholesterol, though, but we also live forever, despite it.

There's also an ethnic/racial component to weight and body type. My husband is Italian, and my family is French-Canadian. However, I teach ESL to a wide range of ethnicities, and I would say Latinos tend to be heavier, and Asians tend to be thinner, regardless of what they eat. If there wasn't a "genetic" component, what would account for these differences? You might want to look this up in some scholarly sources about this issue to get a more precise answer.

Differences in weight regarding ethnicity has more to do with culture and diet than genetics. The ethnicity's ethnic foods would be the main determining factor.

As for having junk in the house it is more about frequency and portion. My family always has these things, the difference between my self at a healthy (never worried about it weight ) and now is how often I began to snack and the portion size. The other members of my family are all have a healthy low bmi.

Well, in my house, it was every day, and my Dad would eat a piece of homemade cake or pie with ice cream for dessert almost every day of his life. My grandmother and most of my extended family lived on the French Canadian diet of tourtiere, gouton, and other pork and fat based dishes. Dad died "young" at 86. My grandmother who lived to be 102 had bacon and ice cream in her house until they moved her into the nursing home. So, I believe there is a genetic, or at least hereditary factor related to weight.

That's not denying that people need self-control if they know that their heredity places them on the heavy side. My husband had to ultimately learn portion control when he became diabetic, and my daughter is a vegetarian who watches her diet. That being said, he was never one of these guys who could eat an entire pizza.

I understand people who use "genetic disorder" or "metabolic condition" as an excuse for their weight. I had a couple of female students who claimed they were heavy and inactive due to PCOS, but came to class with 20 oz. regular cokes and big bags of candy or chips.

As far as culture, many of my Asian students come to class with the same crappy snacks as the Latino students. The Asian students eat tons of white rice, which my Latino students also eat, yet the Latinos are usually heavier.

Hornsby

Thank you for the kind words. I do think the person posting will serve a great purpose to my cause someday…..I think they would make a fine organ donor!

So you think it's okay to insinuate that someone would only be good for organ donation because they posted an obviously joking picture that you didn't approve of? You sound like a real treat.

MrsRatfire

As you are writing an English paper, not a scientific one, I would move on. There is a post in this thread from a biologist in the UK who noted some diseases that are genetic that cause weight gain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics

and I posted two links about glycogen storage disorders and noted, FOD, Fatty Oxidation disorders. These are three which each will have a vat amount of types under them, this topic is too large for an English paper. Uptake of food and how it is utilized or not is a problem in a TON of diseases. I still think for a thesis for an English paper, it is not narrow enough. Even noting to ignore everyone with a genetic disease as not applicable to your paper will be too vague. Narrow it down. I was an A student, always in English, even in my degree. I took a lot of it. I narrowed my thesis always so I could prove the point in the short format of a paper. That is how you win. At least it did for me. As an unwilling expert on genetic diseases, baptism by fire, I would not touch it with a 10 foot pole in an English paper.

I'm writing an English paper and my thesis is defending the idea that gaining weight is not ruled by genetics but I'd like to see some of you all's opinions and if you have references or links to data, that would be appreciated. What do you think? Is it's genetics fault or other factors?


These are the points I'm addressing in the paper:

Thesis: While genetics play a role in how quickly food is processed and where is is lost first when one loses weight, it is in no way associated with weight gain.
Point one: Genetics play a role in an individual’s “ideal weight,” not how much they gain.
Point two: Weight gain is caused by increased caloric intake; if you eat more than you burn, you gain weight, if you eat less, you lose it.
Point three: Many people focus on blaming genetics when they do not want to put in the effort it takes to lose weight or to maintain weight loss.

I didn't read all the responses, but I take issue with your thesis. If you contend that genetically-controlled variables can affect metabolism, I think you've bound yourself to accepting that they can affect both weight loss and gain. You're tip toeing around your real thesis, which is more in line with your third point. That being the case, it's really just an issue of stats. What medical conditions (related to genetics or not) hamper people's attempts to lose weight, which does happen, and what percentage of the population is affected.

It's really just a thinly veiled way of saying, "Put down the fork."

A more interesting topic might be looking at why people don't put down the fork. It's not a simple one, and you'd need to narrow the scope.
-Are there psychological issues at play?
-is there a lack of knowledge?
-are there cultural influences going on?

It seems like there's a fine line between placing blame/personal responsibility and doing a realistic root cause analysis for an individual's behaviors.
[/quote]

_KitKat_

Well, in my house, it was every day, and my Dad would eat a piece of homemade cake or pie with ice cream for dessert almost every day of his life. My grandmother and most of my extended family lived on the French Canadian diet of tourtiere, gouton, and other pork and fat based dishes. Dad died "young" at 86. My grandmother who lived to be 102 had bacon and ice cream in her house until they moved her into the nursing home. So, I believe there is a genetic, or at least hereditary factor related to weight.

That's not denying that people need self-control if they know that their heredity places them on the heavy side. My husband had to ultimately learn portion control when he became diabetic, and my daughter is a vegetarian who watches her diet. That being said, he was never one of these guys who could eat an entire pizza.

I understand people who use "genetic disorder" or "metabolic condition" as an excuse for their weight. I had a couple of female students who claimed they were heavy and inactive due to PCOS, but came to class with 20 oz. regular cokes and big bags of candy or chips.

As far as culture, many of my Asian students come to class with the same crappy snacks as the Latino students. The Asian students eat tons of white rice, which my Latino students also eat, yet the Latinos are usually heavier.

I agree with the post above, I just do not think it is such a large variation that it effects massive gains. The diet would have a larger effect. Latinos also eat a lot of cheese and red meat, Asians typically eat seafood and chicken and I can not think of a single Asian dish with cheese. Small variations in genetics can make it easier or harder for some but that variation would be something the individual has dealt with their whole life and would be accustomed to, meaning they would be well aware if they were eating above their natural TDEE. My husband is a great example of what you are speaking to, he eats non-stop and everything. He does love healthy food but will also have at least 1000 calories in just the evening alone in snacks. He has never been anything but slim and has only gained 14 lbs. in 17 years......but he is also very active, he is a contractor and works hard all day, when he is at home he is constantly doing something and he goes to the gym. He never thinks about his weight but just his natural behavior has him extremely active. Many think he can eat anything, well he kinda can because he burns it. He also never binges and will leave food behind on his plate, he has a healthy relationship with food and has no issues listening to his body.

Personally at 5'4 I am jealous of his height my husband is 6' and if I gain 10lbs you can tell if he does, he doesn't even adjust his belt; to me this is a genetic advantage he has as well as increased testosterone and lower natural body fat % from being a man. I also believe real food ...like bacon is actually better for you that the boxed garbage everyone eats now. Also people like your grandma probably had good habits, they ate when hungry, stopped when full and aren't lazy. Those things alone will normally make someone a healthy weight.