to think that Honey Boo Boo's family is the perfect example of genetics being partly responsible for weight

[Jewels234]

So, for those of you who are missing Here Comes Honey Boo from your lives...it involves a family, 4 girls from 3 different fathers. They all live together (or have done until recently), 3 of the girls are seriously overweight, one of the girls is (as far as I can tell) a healthy weight. They all eat the same, participate in the same activities, have been brought up the same.

Just think that someone should point it out to Katie Hopkins.

AIBU?

I remember two young brothers I knew, one was fat and the other thin, but both were malnourished.

Genetics or not if you're fat you eat too much.
Someone else could eat the same amount or more and not be overweight but the person who is overweight is eating too much for them.
Just because someone else isn't fat who eats the same doesn't make you not fat.

I have identical twin cousins. One if overweight, the other is skinny as a rake. Their sisters are both different too (although one was anorexic as a teen so may have some residual tendencies). Their brother is podgy but drinks too much beer.

nothing to do with genetics .i am over weight .i like cake to much .but my hubby and 3 sons are all slim .because i cook healthy meals .they were not given much rubbish as small children .i may have a slight weight problem .15 stone 5 feet 10 in height .but no was i passing on my bad habits to the boys .

"Genetics or not, you're fat if you eat too much."

True, but we still need to recognize that "fat" and "thin" are not universally standard. Some people, more and more people, think any woman whose body is fuller than a young teens or athlete is fat. There is no understanding of women as supposing to have naturally occurring bums and boobs and the light padding of body fat meant to sustain her through hard times and childbearing.

On the other hand, I am saddened by seeing more and more teens walking around with the bodies of middle aged women. yes, I am overweight, but it took bearing multiple children, experiencing the horrible diet of poverty, and over indulging regularly (and under exercising) as that era fell back into my history to reach this weight, almost exactly double that of my teenage years. When I see so many teens (like the girls in this family) already this large, I wonder and fear for them when they reach my age. They can't double their weight. They can't even add half again and still be able to move around day to day.

It does not hold on genetic alone as many European countries have such a mix of genetics due to history, invasions etc and yet many do not have the same extent of problems as the USA and the UK in terms of obesity. I find the problems can be portion size and whether they use a system of portioning food or helping yourself buffet style. My family generally eat less if I plate the food than if a put food in serving dishes to help themselves. Strangely they never go for seconds of veg.

YANBU. This family isn't "fat together" because one is noticeably thinner.

Their genes didn't make the fat ones fat all by themselves; that's an interaction between that predisposition and their lifestyle. The one who appears normal shares the lifestyle but not the genes. (Or her eating/activity is markedly different from everyone else).

So yes, there may be some genes which affect how you burn fuel and store reserves. And you might be lucky. But if you are unlucky, you can still be a normal weight; you just have to accept it might mean you have to pay more attention to it.

Op.... You are only seeing what the cameras show you

Not 'real life' at all

The so-called thin one isn't that slim. Just in comparison to the others.

It's probably even more complicated than that, there is emerging stuff around epigenetics that suggests that your experience as a foetus and a young child actually changes how your genes are expressed so for example if you were undernourished as a foetus you will be genetically prone to slower metabolism and weight gain, this makes evolutionary sense as the foetus is born expecting famine from their in utero experience.

There is quite good evidence that undernutrition in early childhood for example children who are neglected who are then moved to environments where better nutrition is offered are prone to obesity. Is that because of environmental factors (a tendency to overeat due to past experiences) or a change in how their genes are expressed so they maintain weight as their bodies 'expect' undernutrition or both

Obesity is likely caused by a very complex interplay of genetics and environment and cannot be solved simply. We know calorie restricted diets and increased activity don't work in the long term to reduce obesity in people who are already obese although they do have short term impacts. It is possible they have a preventative effect, though some people suggests calorie restriction/portion control in childhood increase adult obesity rates and are conducting research to that effect, it is all very interesting.

They eat a bunch of shite and sit on their arses. This is why all but one is obese.

If genetics cause fatness (rather than eating crap and not doing any physical activity) it's funny how the people who inherit those genes are never the same people as those who suffer famines or time in POW camps (or anywhere where they're as good as starved).

Bizarre.

I don't watchbit that often but I did see an episode where the slim girl was making her own healthy food and saying she was health conscious I think she's the one with a baby?

It is likely genetics and environment together and the effects of environment at crucial ages on genetics though. So if you place two people in a famine one will maintain weight longer (and survive for longer) than the other dependent on their genetic metabolism. There is some evidence that the genetic advantage of PCOS is that women who have PCOS maintain weight for longer and can conceive at lower weights than women who don't. These women are genetically adapted for famine but if they are placed in abundance they gain weight easily and have a higher risk of infertility.
I think we forget that in most of history the ability to gain weight quickly and not lose it easily was a major advantage. It is also likely that due to the higher survival rates of people with these genetic advantages means more of us carry these 'useful' genes now. However after a long time of abundance this should swing back.

There is some evidence that human obesity is 'under genetic control' , following research on adopted children. We are likely to inherit our biological parents predisposition to obesity.
That doesn't make being obese inevitable though. This particular family has a terrible diet and lifestyle, but they could control their weight with some effort and knowledge.

About 60-80% of your weight is down to your genetics. What has happened in the last, say, 50 years is that we live in an obesogenic environment, where there are many factors that mean that we now have more choices to make 'bad' choices.

Some of us just have to work harder to make the better choices in terms of exercise & food, because things like satiety (how full you feel) are pretty much under brain chemistry control rather than will power.

harrowgreen, if you have no control over how much you eat (such as in a time of famine), of course you will lose weight. That's just physics! But where there is abundance of food, some people do just eat more.

We are designed for times of feast then famine. It is just the famine never comes now.

This is an excellent lecture on the subject by one of the world experts on this:

Bollocks, the slim one just eats less. How can you possibly say they eat the same and do the same when you only see a tiny, highly edited part of their lives? And you're saying it's genetic whilst in the same breath describing their disgusting diet.

Maybe the slim one goes to the gym everyday, maybe she has a secret fridge full of salad. Their image is 'redneck' lifestyle so that's what they project on screen. If one daughter chooses a different lifestyle they won't show that on the show.

The slim one eats less. Simple.

They are a perfect example of why genetics are unconnected.

But I think some people just enjoy food more than others, and can't stop eating when full. So some dc in the same. In a family some may have a big appetite gene whilst some don't. If you think back to cavemen times, some people would have had to eat more to gain weight to survive in times of famine. It's evolution

there was some quite interesting research, I can't remember where I found it which looked at overweight not obese children and found that as a group they ate significantly fewer calories and had a similar activity level to normal weight children. This might imply a link to basal metabolism established by genetics or prenatal/early life experience. Who knows, I thought it was interesting though.

The slimmer girl is the eldest. She is also different from the others because she was raised by her grandmother... She only moved back in with her family for the filming of the show, and she put on a bit of weight while pregnant - maybe also while staying at the house and eating those horrendous 'meals'.

Sorry OP, but I think nurture plays a stronger role in that family's weight than nature...

Yep, I just googled it. The oldest is called Anna, and she grew up at her grandmother's house. The grandmother isn't obese either...

Is that you tube link the one with the twins who were split up?

I think he says it's mostly genetics.

YABU, unless genetics have only started influencing weight in the last ten years?

flipflops, we now live in an obesogenic environment so the genetics have really become obvious in the last generation, whereas before people ate less, had fewer choices, and just did more physical activity in the home and at work.