Obesity: Genetics or Environment?

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.

Umeboshi

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?

I agree with this. I wonder if another factor in the increase of obesity is new generations that did not grow up in or around the times of food rationing. Not only income but pure availability.

firefly171717

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

I like this idea....

Umeboshi

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.

Your mindset seems based on the assumption that everyone experiences the same or similar level of cravings you do, and that everyone starts off with a certain level of "willpower" equal to yours.

ryry06revolution

Its genetics over environment on the average. All you have to do is look at identicle twins and they are almost always the same weight within 10 ibs. They have studied twins whom grew up apart and they are always a much closer weight to one another than they are with the families who raised them. When food is available like it is in industrialized countries genetics take over unless you are consistently dieting.

Matt_Wild

Interestingly there are studies that show it is not just genetics - its also suggesting environmental factors as well. In a study in Sweden, at UPPSALA Uni they studied TV habits, sleep and drinking booze. Each of the factors effected reward and addiction mechanisms in the brain. TV and booze can control social interaction and then tie to ritual eating patterns and over consumption of food. Booze was seen to increase food intake more than sleep deprevation or TV - suggesting a lack of control when imbibed? Possibly? I don't know...

RhonndaJ

I've come to believe that one is obese as a combination of both genetics and environment, with environment being the greatest factor.

Yes, I believe that genetics can give you a predisposition to how weight is distributed, as well as how quickly one can put weight on, and how hard it can be to take it off.

But it's environment where we learn, or don't learn, the skills to live a healthy lifestyle. When I look back on my childhood, I can see where I was taught to not only clean my plate, but to have seconds. And where I also learned that food was both comfort and celebration, and there were factors in my life, genetic ones as well as environmental ones, which sent me to seeking more and more food as comfort. Even though I spent a few years eating under the restrictive diet of 1970s WW and some of the learned behaviours there have held over, it did not set into my thoughts strong enough for the other learned behaviours to surface again.

But there is a point in my life where I can't even place the blame on environment, unless I consider myself part of my own environment.

From the point of adulthood, I accept that I am solely responsible for the quantity and quality of the food that I have eaten, and the lack of movement I have done. And it doesn't matter that my mental health issues did, and continue to, impact my food and movement choices, as an adult, it remains. I'm an adult. I've long known what I must do not to be obese, but have chosen, consciously or unconsciously, not to do it.

MGSR

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.

This, we live in such a blame culture, I hate it. People should take responsibility for themselves and not blame everyone around them. Common sense is slowly disappearing and being replaced by thousands of warning labels.

Having said that, the study you mentioned is interesting, but in my experience most people don't blame their weight gain on hunger, if I had a pound for every time I heard someone say 'No matter what I eat I can't lose weight'... feeling hungry all the time shouldn't affect your ability to lose weight if you are managing to stick to a calorie controled diet.

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.

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?

So people were better off with less money because they can't control their impulses? Its an interesting intellectual proposition and one I've seen before, but I'm not sure its the type of thing we would want to openly discuss as its a can of worms for a number of reasons, but let me list two: (1) poor and middle class share of wealth is a very politically charged topic and the numbers are used politically so its hard to separate politics from facts, and (2) there has traditionally been a positive correlation between wealth and size, but from what I understand that trend has reversed over the course of the last 30 or so years, so that now the poor tend to be larger than well-to-do (again a very charged subject because people can run with it and say, well the poor have no self control, etc. - there are some pretty harsh people out there). You can see this demonstrated in sizing of designer clothing vs. sizing of discount clothing.

Even assuming this is all true though (which, for the record, I'm not saying), the focus should be encouraging people to take better care of themselves within the confines of what they CAN control. And again, I think your core message that we should deal with the issue of obesity with sensitivity and respect is great and one I wholeheartedly support. And for that reason, I'd prefer not to engage in the above discussion as I think this thread will nose dive if we do. Make sense?

Edit: typo and clarification

Koldnomore

I believe that it is a combination of both but mostly environment will dictate IF you end up fat.

You can have 'skinny' genes and still gain due to being in an environment where food is being forced on you..as an example, small children have NO WAY to know that they are not supposed to be eating THAT much- they are told to "finish what is on their dish" and punished if they do not, they are given deserts and juice to drink daily. If you put any child in a situation like this 99% of them will gain weight and further this is the way that they will view food for most of their adult lives.

If you have a proclivity to gain weight and are raised in a healthy environment where exercise is normal, water is the drink of choice and desert is just an occasional treat it is more likely that you will remain reasonably normal sized and thus have a more reasonable relationship with food.

I have yet to see a fat kid with skinny parents who fed them normally.. Usually kids are fat because they are being fed too much or just getting the wrong things.

As an adult its 100% environment (save the rare case of medical condition) you are in control of what you put in your mouth.

RhonndaJ

As a side note, I find myself often wondering if most people know the difference between true hunger and cravings.