Genetics-- is that why you're overweight?
Watched Weight of the Nation on HBO last night. Had some interesting facts if you can make it past all the drama. According to the show, genetics are accountable for 60-70% of the factors that contribute to body weight.
Do you agree with this estimation? Do you think you were born to be a healthy weight, overweight, or obese? If not, what has led you to believe otherwise?
Do you agree with this estimation? Do you think you were born to be a healthy weight, overweight, or obese? If not, what has led you to believe otherwise?
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Uh Oh...be prepared for the "OMG, HOW DARE YOU? I'M FAT BECAUSE I EAT, DON'T TRY BLAMING ANYTHING ELSE" train.
As for me, I think they do play a part. People in my family are large, we're very big boned and big people. Now the amount of food we all eat def. played a HUGE roll in why we are the size we are, but I've looked back and there are quite a few heavy people in the family.
As for me, I'm fat because I eat lol0 -
While I would love to say that my weight issues are entirely my own fault...but I do believe that we are products of our environments to a degree. I love them all and mean no disrespect to my fabulous family, but it's looking like 'genetics' win out in my family tree for the obese factor. :ohwell:0
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The way your body is built and the way you carry excess weight: yes, genetics. My sister has a medium frame and carries all of her weight in her stomach area, so when she gains a few lbs due to poor eating habits/not exercising, that's where it shows up, just like my mother, her mother, and her mother...
I was blessed with the body frame of the women on my dad's side: very proportionate, small framed women who gain weight extremely evenly. I can weigh 15lbs more than my sister (and she's 4 inches taller than I am) and appear to be the same clothing size.
The actual physical gaining of the weight, however, is due to what you're putting in your mouth and how much or how little you're moving around. Now, if your family has always had poor eating habits and you gained weight just like the rest of them (or they had healthy eating habits and you remained in good shape like the rest of them) then it's not just your genes, it's the poor (or great) eating habits you learned from your family.0 -
I hope not lol. Most of my relatives are pretty big.0
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Yep. I have a genetic predisposition toward pasta, whiskey, coca-cola, and peanut butter.
It all plays a part, though. If I neglect myself, I default to skinny fat. Other people seem to default to ginormous, and other people seem to default to awesome. Lucky *kitten*, lol.0 -
The way your body is built and the way you carry excess weight: yes, genetics. My sister has a medium frame and carries all of her weight in her stomach area, so when she gains a few lbs due to poor eating habits/not exercising, that's where it shows up, just like my mother, her mother, and her mother...
Agreed. You may have chunky thighs or a big butt because of genetics, but you are not obese because of genetics. You're obese because you have poor eating and exercise habits.
This is just what we needed ... another excuse for people to stay unhealthy.0 -
The way your body is built and the way you carry excess weight: yes, genetics. My sister has a medium frame and carries all of her weight in her stomach area, so when she gains a few lbs due to poor eating habits/not exercising, that's where it shows up, just like my mother, her mother, and her mother...
Agreed. You may have chunky thighs or a big butt because of genetics, but you are not obese because of genetics. You're obese because you have poor eating and exercise habits.
This is just what we needed ... another excuse for people to stay unhealthy.
^^^^ Couldn't agree any more! If I were to continually blame genetic, I'd be HUGE, but I take responsibility for myself and my weight. I know, in what range I feel best and it isn't in the range my body would naturally have me settle at. It's all about personal responsibility.0 -
My body likes to deposit fat in the most asthetically unappealing way.
So I fight to replace it with muscle, or lean it out.
My Indian and Brazilian backgrounds are fighting to make my butt either flat or boing-y.I'm battling tooth and nail to keep it somewhere in between :P
I'm sculpting my own body and kicking genetics in the soft bits. :flowerforyou:0 -
I absolutely agree that genetics play a part in the "factors that contribute to body weight", just like they can contribute to depression, high cholesterol, and lots of other health issues.
When I gain weight, I carry that weight the same way, in the same places the women in my family have for generations, but as with everything else, its just another hurdle to keeping healthy. Those women didn't kick *kitten* in the gym or for that matter, have the information available to us these days about health concerns. They also were never encouraged to be athletic the way girls are today.
Of course, its not an excuse to say "I'm just fat because my family is fat". Some of us just have to work harder!!0 -
The way your body is built and the way you carry excess weight: yes, genetics. My sister has a medium frame and carries all of her weight in her stomach area, so when she gains a few lbs due to poor eating habits/not exercising, that's where it shows up, just like my mother, her mother, and her mother...
Agreed. You may have chunky thighs or a big butt because of genetics, but you are not obese because of genetics. You're obese because you have poor eating and exercise habits.
This is just what we needed ... another excuse for people to stay unhealthy.
This. While my family is all obese, morbidly obese actually, there comes a time to take responsibility for ourselves. I over ate and kept on eating as a teenager and here I am 32 at 370 lbs and I blame no one but myself. No more excuses.0 -
Genetics can play some role, but I think what and how much we eat plays a far greater role. But, to pull out the saying from a comic I saw the other day....
It is ironic that religiously zealous people will say homosexuality is a choice, but that obesity is genetic....
*runs from the flamethrowers*0 -
What people don't get is that being able to retain body fat is actually a genetic benefit.
Who is going to survive a famine?
Those who pack on the pounds easily. Our bodies are not designed for food that is so readily available in such abundant quantities. That is where the behavioral aspect comes into play. We now have choices and it is up to the individual to make the right ones.0 -
I think genetics may be part of it... but I know for me it was mainly bad eating habits, no exercise, and portions that were out of control.0
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Obesity runs strongly in my family... I was obese, but I beat it through hard work, proper nutrition, and exercise.
Of course genetics play a large role in many aspects of our lives and health specifically; however, our choices can trump a large portion of the problems crappy genetics can cause.0 -
The majority of my immediate and extended family are overweight.
I am not.
The End.0 -
I agree that genetics may determine where the fat goes but we all know it is calories in/calories out. I would not be fat if I didn't eat too much and not exercise enough. My children are in their 20's and both are at healthy weights. My mother was thin until she was in her 40's ... she stopped riding horses and exercising and gained weight. I can't blame genetics ... i can blame hand to mouth disease LOL0
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Genetics? NO
Donuts..Chocolate and Pizza? YUBETCHA!!!
:drinker:0 -
I do think genetics plays a huge role. I am East Indian..so I do have a tendency of carrying a bit more belly fat..but with that said...you still have to educate yourself on what is good/not good to eat.
I have a sister who is about 5'2" and looks like she is about 180 pounds...she is fat..and blames it on society..not on her eating mcdonalds for breakfast lunch and dinner. She is stayed with my niece for a few days..and my niece blamed my sister for her recent weight gain.
I think we all look for reasons outside of ourselves for our weight..but at the end of the day..its all about what you put in your mouth..and how much you move. I know very few Indian women who are my age..that arent fat in one way or another...like being married gives them an excuse to "let themselves go"..I for one want to be around for a while..so I watch what I eat about 80% of the time..and have fluctuated between 135-140 since Thanksgiving..0 -
I know I'm not overweight by genetics because most of my family are skinny minis naturally. Especially my dad's side. I was over-weight because I had no self-control, motivation, and determination. Until I found some, and some other tools and lost 35 pounds. Now I have the tools and mind-set to keep it off forever!
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NO. It is not proven that genetics are to blame.
Its because you dont eat right and you dont move your body. Technology has played an enormous role in this, as more and more people now sit behind a desk.
If you need to prove me wrong, please go find evidence of an obese caveman.0 -
I think it seems genetic because families tend to eat the same way. People don't think about that aspect-- parents are teaching their kids what to eat, and they learned it from their parents. Something such as white bread-- that might be a common thing in your family that you never questioned. Or dessert with every meal. Same with exercise-- some families are active, some just sit around watching TV or playing video games.
If the habits are changed the obesity chain can be broken. That's what I believe!0 -
Everyone in my family is overweight. It's been a struggle for me my entire life to lose it, and I've definitely noticed that my own battle with weight loss is much more difficult than someone who has a family that isn't all overweight. They tend to lose it quicker.
It's definitely got something to do with genetics, for sure. 300lbs isn't genetic, though. Lol. That's not natural. Being a LITTLE overweight, like in the 26%-30% bodyfat range? I could see that as being genetic.0 -
Couldn't have been all those Groceries and Fast food I stuffed down MY neck. Had to have been Genetics..0
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I don't think so. But I am shaped just like my mother. Big hips, butt and thighs. And my sister is shaped just like my Grandma. Big stomach, little thin legs.0
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In the United States, at least, I think the reason for the rise in obesity is the ubiquitous nature of the automobile combined with an abundance of cheap and readily available processed foodstuffs.
People lived much differently forty years ago: they cooked their own food and they walked a lot.0 -
Considering my family on both sides it's quite plausible that genetics factor in to some degree. My mother is overweight, my father struggled with his weight most of his life and only ever lost weight after they divorced to blame my mom for his weight, my mother's mother was severely overweight and all my mom's siblings are overweight though one Aunt as a child was a stick. My father's family, being predominantly Italian, were all eaters and drinkers and smokers.
Personally I don't care to get into the technical things of what got me to where I am beyond eating habits and medication side effects because it just becomes muddy facts and in the end doesn't matter to me. I'm sure someone could argue "but what about if you have kids, don't you want to know if there's a chance they'll be fat?" but all I can say is if the kid does start becoming overweight then I'll be a parent and find fun ways for them to eat well and move more. If it happens it happens.0 -
Gene probably play at least a partial role..in that they will dictate how our body stores fat and what not... but I wonder if its actually genes causing obesity... or learned behaviors (over eating, not exercising). I find that to be the bigger contributing factor... barring a medical condition.. it's your habits that are going to make you gain weight... your genes are just going to dictate how quickly it happens and where it goes0
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It might be genetics in my family, but it's the genetics that make me prone to laziness, hehe.
Seriously though? My dad is overweight, as is my mom, and so was my sister until grad school (she looks awesome now). I think I inherited the same body type as my mom, where all of my pudge plops itself firmly on my hips and thighs, but I think I get my ample upper torso from my dad's side (perhaps from my late grandmother's side of his family).0 -
I think you can be predisposed to being overweight, but I think the choices you make are the bigger factor. I think this is the nature vs. nurture argument in a different context. My dad's side of the family are all fairly stocky, but my dad is the only one obese. My mom comes from a family that is rather thin, except she met my dad and gained weight. A lot of weight. Now, I get being tall from both of them, but I don't believe that I was a fat kid because of genetics. I was a fat kid because I inherited my parents eating habits. I carry my weight exactly like my dad does, but I have been, so far, successful at losing weight. My brother is a lean machine, but he works really hard to be there. How do you really know if genetics causes it, if you are eating a crappy diet?0
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I admit poor eating habits play a part in my weight battle. But I am built like my dad's side of the family. Funny thing is I have 3 kids. Two are on the heavy side like me but my youngest (14) is thin and eats everything he wants. He can eat a meal and 30 minutes later is hungry again. Kills my other two kids. He is drawn towards different types of foods I notice. He does not like icing on cake but loves chips and salsa. I think genetics plays a part in weight like it or not.0
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