The Role of Genetics in Determining Weight

[SifuPhil]

Studies indicate that the role of genetics plays an important part in determining your weight. As a matter of fact, your genes are said to be up to 70% of the total influence. When your parents are overweight you have a much higher chance of becoming overweight as well. It does not mean that you will definitely become overweight – it just means that there is a strong likelihood that you could.

Do you believe these studies, or do you think that it is just a shifting of responsibility for one's own health?

 

[VaughnThomas]

I think that it is true that some individuals are more prone to weight gain than others, BUT I believe it is still our own personal responsibility to take care of our bodies and ensure we remain at a healthy weight.

To blame weight gain only on genetics would be like me blaming genetics for sunburn - yes I'm naturally pale and more prone to sunburn than others, but in the end it's up to me to look after myself.

 

[rkunsaw]

I agree with Vaughn. I would also add that the way you were brought up has a ;ot to do with your weight too.

Were your parents overweight because of genetics or because of a junk food lifestyle?

No matter the reason each person has control of their own body. My mother was obese. My dad wasn't overweight at all until the last years of his life. My sister is overweight but not as fat as mother was. I'm 5'11 1/2". This morning I weighed 162. I gained a pound from that ice cream I had last night. My brother is 5'10" and weighs over 400 pounds.

We all have the same genetics but my brother is 17 years younger than me. When my sister and I were young it was a struggle for our parents to have food on the table. By the time my brother came along my parents had more money and a different lifestyle. I'm sure that has had a big influence on our weight.

 

[janfromflorida]

My parents weren't junk food junkies, they were of German extraction. My great-grandparents actually came from the "old country" and I remember their meals included potatoes three times a day. German food is very heavy and it is what I was raised to think of as normal. Then in 1945 my parents opened a restaurant which became very popular because of its' heavy food and huge portions. There was genetics at work in my family, but I think culture played a bigger part for me. I don't think any of my relatives have avoided the gain-loss yo-yo game.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

I think that both our genetics and our lifestyle play a part in how we look. I remember reading an article on how ones ancestry affects our body build, and the pictures that it showed were not just skeletal, or even just muscular traits. One picture showed a woman from an African tribe, and even though she was not over weight, and was in fact, in fine physical condition, she had a slender body build, and a very oversized rear end. Apparently, that was considered attractive in that tribe, so those were the most chosen women, and that body type became the norm for those people. So, it makes sense to me that certain attributes would come along with ones genetic heritage.
However, the specific issue of being overweight, especially as it pertains to Americans, is based a lot on the food we eat, known as the Standard American Diet (SAD).
Most of the food that the majority of the people eat today is very refined, no vitamins or minerals left, and way over cooked and over processed, and our bodies are starving for nourishment, at the same time we are stuffed from overeating. This is not everybody, of course, and there are many reasons that can lead to overweight, like not exercising, or even a hormone imbalance.
However, I think if people would eat more natural, and preferably raw, food, we would all feel healthier, and there would be less overweight people.