habits vs genetics?

@tomteboda how do you connect Gall and epigenetics?

99.89% is habits some of which are learned in family.

Yes, it's pretty common to have a lower IQ. People with PWS need a good support system to control food and diet.

I think that putting genetics and habits on opposite sides of the question creates a false dichotomy that doesn't really help anyone?

There are lots of factors that go into weight and overall health in general. Yeah, genetics plays a part. I mean, I was born a 5'3" woman, and both of those factors are 100% genetics and pretty much give me my BMR. I wouldn't be surprised if other genetic factors played a part in how efficiently we metabolise food or in what kinds of food we can or can't eat. Makes sense, right?

And then of course there's all the theories about the effect of gut microbiome on what foods we can digest and how well we do that. But then there's the idea that we can affect change in that microbiome simply by living/eating in a way that encourages a better set of bacteria to thrive ("if you eat healthily, the bacteria that nom on healthy things will thrive. Cause there's plenty there for them").

Of course, the science isn't exactly in on any of this 'cause humans are complicated. But like, I know that a year ago I weighed more than I do now, had less energy, was prone to anxiety/depression. Today I'm not really any of those things. I know that when I first started eating better (less calories, more unprocessed food, y'know the drill like) I had a few weeks when things were not excellent in the digestion dept. But my body adjusted, and now I feel a million times better.

So like, yeah, genetics plays a part. And yeah, probably epigenetics (damn you great-grandparents and your life experiences!) might but we have no idea how or to what extent. And microbiomes and probably dozens of other factors we haven't thought of yet. Not to mention the structures of the environment in which we live- I mean, I remember reading a study that showed that people who live in places with good public transport networks tend to be a few pounds lighter than people who live in places without 'em, 'cause they're likely to walk ten minutes to and from the bus/train station a few times a day. Small things add up.

None of that takes from the fact that wherever you start from and whatever you're working with, we all have a massive range of possible bodies and levels of health that we can choose from through our own actions. I'll never be Usain Bolt, but I sure can be better at running for the bus. I'll never have perfect model-features, but I sure can lose a bitta weight and get rid of the belly and any extra chins.