Obesity: Genetics or Environment?

Matt_Wild

What are your thoughts?

Mine are on my blog - http://www.gasparinutrition.co.uk/team-gaspari/uk-athletes/matt-wild/matts-blog/genetics-or-environment/

LittleMissDover

Bit of both in my anecdotal experience.

My brother and I have different fathers. We grew up together though in a household that only ate junk, lot of it. We'd both eat lots but whereas he's always been underweight, I have been overweight.

As adults having left home, my brother continues with a bad diet as he dislikes most veg and fruit and he continues to be underweight. I am trying to get my weight down.

My childhood contributes toward my bad eating habits and genetics to me show a difference in me and my brother BUT genetics aren't going to stop me from losing the weight. I know I can do it as I've done it before.

Chadomaniac

read your blog , i have to agree ... we all live in a very similar environment with the same temptations. both my parents were once bodybuilders and have never had issues with retaining fat (both hard gainers ) including my brother ... me on the other hand , i tend to gain fat very fast/ as well as muscle and it takes for ever to lose the fat !
my brother and i grew up eating pretty much the same stuff only difference is he ate TWICE as much as me but is TWICE as thin as me , he doesnt put on fat no matter how much he eats ... WE BROTHERS!!!! only thing i can come up with is that i have different genetics.. somewhere in my family , someone had to be similar to me

sarahlouise7

In my experience i definately feel its the environment over genetics!! Im one of 7 children, we are all totally different!! From the 2 boys i have, they too are totally different!!

Our world is full of things to make life easier, and its made people lazy. Food is often of convenience these days where as years ago it was all good wholesome food that was cooked from scratch and made to go further. You had to walk to go get it, even grow it yourself, farm it yourself, all involving exercise. Now we have engines and machines to do it for us!!

I do feel genetics play a part for some people but for me, its environment.

joe7880

I was told that genetics was the "gun" and the environment was the "trigger" but I don't think genetics is an excuse to be obese. The bottom line is if you eat food in excess, like I did in order to comfort myself, you will gain weight no matter what your genetics say. On the flip side, if you eat adequately for your body and exerciese regularly then you won't be obese/overweight.

For example, my brother and I, who came from the same parents, were totally different. I was overweight/obese and he was skinny growing up. I "credit" my eagerness to comfort myself with food to my weight gain even if my genetics had me programmed to be overweight/obese.

Edit: my answer is environment over genetics

diodelcibo

Environment 100%.

lbesaw

Environment, environment, environment............unless there is a valid "medical" reason.

Chadomaniac

genetics , genetics , genetics ... personality , personality , personality .... dont blame the fkn environment

it boils down to CHOICE ... if u had the personality to not know when to stop and the genetics to store fat on your hips and u in an environment where u exposed to foods u will INDULGE (dont blame the environment )

FitBeto

I gain weight fast, but I lose it really fast as well, I seem to hold onto muscle regardless of lifting or not. I do have 3 sisters, one eats candy ALL THE TIME, literally bags, and the other same and one eats very unhealthy. All 3 are sedentary and all 3 are normal weight. I'd say I can eat pretty much whatever and exercise and I dont gain single pound.

My dad and mom are not obese, but overweight. Dad is sedentary and mom is very active but she out-eats her workout program. I feel it is definitely genetics that plays a role in all my family's metabolisms, because the environment we are in has cabinets stocked with food all the time and i think we eat/snack literally every hour of the day and i wouldn't consider us unhealthy (on the outside at least!)

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Definitely both--predispositions to be obese do not equal obese though. The environment can allow the predisposition to come to fruition but I do think that genetics play a huge role in how we metabolize food.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Example: my little brothers--same environment yet one has always been chubby (comparable in shape to his mother) and the other is slender like me and my dad. Oddly the skinny one ALSO shares the same personality traits as me and my dad and the other brother is worlds different! I can't help but think that genetics plays a SIGNIFICANT role.

Chadomaniac

this simply means that calories are bull**** and have no significance to us ? tdee is cr@p aswell? that is if genetics play a major role ... never gna win the battle ey

Matt_Wild

We control the density of the food we put in our mouth. We cannot necessarily control our appetites. Learning to eat foods that satiate our appetites is key, IMO.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

this simply means that calories are bull**** and have no significance to us ? tdee is cr@p aswell? that is if genetics play a major role ... never gna win the battle ey

I think you're interpreting it in an extreme manner.

People don't hesitate to attribute talent to genetics--someone can be a "natural" runner, pianist, whatever BUT that doesn't mean an average individual can't excel--they just have to work harder. Same deal.

Matt_Wild

this simply means that calories are bull**** and have no significance to us ? tdee is cr@p aswell? that is if genetics play a major role ... never gna win the battle ey

Calories do have a roll, they are not the complete picture. However crash dieting is never good.

testease

genetics will play a role in how and where fat is stored. Some people have nice even distribution over the body, some dont.

But at the end of the day obestiy is caused by peoples in ability to put the fork down with they have had enough food.

MGSR

I watched a programme once where a woman who was convinced she had a valid genetic reason why she couldn't lose weight was tested, turns out her genes were fine and there was no medical reason why she shouldn't be able to lose weight. They also tested two friends, one who could 'eat what she wanted' and not gain weight, the other who was overweight but sure she ate less than her friend. They monitored them for 2 weeks, turned out the larger one ate more and exercised less than the thinner one.

A lot of people (not directed to anyone on here) blame large frames or bad genetics, but very, very few people have actual medical excuses to be overweight.

Matt_Wild

genetics will play a role in how and where fat is stored. Some people have nice even distribution over the body, some dont.

But at the end of the day obestiy is caused by peoples in ability to put the fork down with they have had enough food.

But genetically we have ghrelin ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin ) that controls how one eats. Its not black and white. If you were forever hungry would you simply say that?

This is University of Exeter study which suggest 70% of obesity is genetics and down to our internal functioning's, not environment.

Chadomaniac

obesity is a proper disorder ... some people cant help it

testease

genetics will play a role in how and where fat is stored. Some people have nice even distribution over the body, some dont.

But at the end of the day obestiy is caused by peoples in ability to put the fork down with they have had enough food.

But genetically we have ghrelin ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin ) that controls how one eats. Its not black and white. If you were forever hungry would you simply say that?

This is University of Exeter study which suggest 70% of obesity is genetics and down to our internal functioning's, not environment.

I am always hungry, i just find ways to deal with it. Its called will power. Its only in the last few decades the mass majority of people have had to use willpower. Before, the average citizen didnt have to because there was simply not enough cheap food around.

Matt_Wild

I am always hungry, i just find ways to deal with it. Its called will power. Its only in the last few decades the mass majority of people have had to use willpower. Before, the average citizen didnt have to because there was simply not enough cheap food around.

So because you are mentally strong, that is the way every one should be? I like you do that, but make no mistake, Ghrelin is one strong hormone and one that is perhaps stronger in OTHERS rather than you. Ever thought that?

Umeboshi

omma_to_3

Definitely both--predispositions to be obese do not equal obese though. The environment can allow the predisposition to come to fruition but I do think that genetics play a huge role in how we metabolize food.

Agreed. I have PCOS. I didn't gain weight until I hit puberty when my hormones went all out of whack. I was insulin resistant LONG before I was obese. However, I remained obese LONG after my hormone levels were under control. Years of diet and exercise that led NOWHERE because of my hormone imbalances took away my desire to try, even after the hormones were in control. Even now, with them in control, I'm a slow loser, but it is possible now.

Umeboshi

I am always hungry, i just find ways to deal with it. Its called will power. Its only in the last few decades the mass majority of people have had to use willpower. Before, the average citizen didnt have to because there was simply not enough cheap food around.

So because you are mentally strong, that is the way every one should be? I like you do that, but make no mistake, Ghrelin is one strong hormone and one that is perhaps stronger in OTHERS rather than you. Ever thought that?

Great point.
Not every person has the same level of available "willpower", either. This is especially true for those with mental illnesses, many of which actively drain a person's "willpower".

Matt_Wild

True, we can alter our environmental factors that allow our 'fat genes' to promote obesity.

sunsnstatheart

Okay, I like your message about not pointing fingers and educating people with a level of sensitivity, and if that's your core point I'm 100% behind you. That said, going so far as to say that its 70% genetics seems to be in direct contradiction to the obvious weight gain the Western industrialized world (not just the U.S.) has experienced over the last 20 plus years. Thinking about it another way, that person who is genetically predisposed to weight gain may in fact be much bigger than his or her grandparents were at the same age, so while their genetics isn't really making things any easier, its the 30% that is within the person's control that could potentially save their life. At some point we all have to accept responsibility for our own problems, whether those problems be obesity, alcoholism, smoking, etc. Again though, I like the message of not being a *kitten* - we need more of that on the message boards.

Chadomaniac

u also have to realise that those with higher levels of the hormone ghrelin will want tasty food , a cup of oats and chicken breast wont satisfy them ...

Bronx_Montgomery

Its def a little bit of both.

Matt_Wild

Okay, I like your message about not pointing fingers and educating people with a level of sensitivity, and if that's your core point I'm 100% behind you. That said, going so far as to say that its 70% genetics seems to be in direct contradiction to the obvious weight gain the Western industrialized world (not just the U.S.) has experienced over the last 20 plus years. Thinking about it another way, that person who is genetically predisposed to weight gain may in fact be much bigger than his or her grandparents were at the same age, so while their genetics isn't really making things any easier, its the 30% that is within the person's control that could potentially save their life. At some point we all have to accept responsibility for our own problems, whether those problems be obesity, alcoholism, smoking, etc. Again though, I like the message of not being a *kitten* - we need more of that on the message boards.

Could you not argue in the last 30 years disposable income has allowed the fat genes that we may have to increase our body fat levels? Before hand, one simply did not have the income to allow good money to be thrown at sweets/candy/whatever you like to call it and similar fast foods and drinks?

Umeboshi

u also have to realise that those with higher levels of the hormone ghrelin will want tasty food , a cup of oats and chicken breast wont satisfy them ...

I think I must produce ghrelin in ridiculous proportions.

testease

Yes everyone should develop some mental toughness and not blame "genetics". Life aint ****ing easy, im sick to death of hearing people blame everything but themselves.

At the end of the day, it is your own choice fo putting that bit of food in your mouth. The mentally strong wont, the weak will.

Yes hormones are a son of a *****, they make your crave lots of things, make you hungry. But you are still making the concious choice of following through with them.