A bit of motivation

Here's a little piece of information that might be some motivation to you guys!

I learned in one of my psychology courses about something called epigenetics. To put it simply, epigenetics is the study of changes in which genes are expressed or how each gene is expressed. This basically means that our choices we make today affect our future offspring and quite possibly their offspring and so on. By working out and making healthy eating choices we are changing how tightly our DNA is coiled. How tightly our DNA is coiled affects which genes are expressed and which genes are "silenced" (meaning not active/effective). For example, by working out maybe an obesity gene is silenced, and that will be passed on to offspring, decreasing their chance of obesity. So by making these healthy choices we are benefitting our future generations! The end :)

...it motivated me a little bit, so I thought I'd share it!

Replies

  • Thanks for posting very interesting!!!! :smile:
  • kmdancer92
    kmdancer92 Posts: 18 Member
    No problem! It's fairly recent research.
  • burtonhl
    burtonhl Posts: 57
    Thank you! I immediately thought of my 6 year old daughter and it motivated me even more to make my health a priority - not only for me, but to share with my family. I appreciate the info!
  • sportsforfun
    sportsforfun Posts: 353
    Great post. I have always wondered about that and if lifestyle can effect what gets passed on to future generations.