To think that obesity mostly has to do with your genes

[penandpaperlife]

I've been living with my best friend for a year now due to some personal issues with my STBXH, and this has been something I've been wondering about. My best friend eats the exact same thing as me, with the same exact portion size. She also snacks on nuts and/or biscuits throughout the day (we're a freelance team so we spend basically all day together) while I don't.

Why then, is she slim and I'm not?

The only difference in our lifestyle is that she goes for a 15min run every morning. I've read studies and charts though and that seems to only burn about 150kcals. Surely that wouldn't even offset her snacks? I come from a 'fat family', she doesn't. We're both almost 30, if that matters. That leads me to believe that genetics do play a huge part here, contrary to what's often being parroted in the press. Is that possible? Does anyone have any experience with this?

I’m not sure about exactly how much influence genetics has overall, for example, I would be careful of saying some people are just born that way and cannot change. But I do think it has a big part to play. I know some people that eat rubbish and a lot of it, don’t exercise at all and look in great shape on the outside. I also know people who eat very well and move every day and struggle to shift the weight!

15mins a day if she's a fast runner means she's probably covering a lot more ground and at a higher intensity level than you would think.

I don't think it's genetic. I think a lot of our relationships with food comes from what we were exposed to as kids. If eating salad in your house was laughed at , and never available then you don't get the opportunity to learn to enjoy a salad and it's less likely to become part of your diet.

However diet and weight loss is within your Control. I've always been overweight then 5 years ago I was determined to take control and lost 3.5st and built up a lot of muscle. I was the best shape of my life in my 30's. Due to life circumstances this has slipped the past 6 months and I've put in about 1.5st, but I'm making those changes again and will get back to where I was.

My problem is that i never had a probelm with my weight always arond the 9stone mark untill hit mid 30's. It wasn't till i had my medical in work and they told me i was borderline obese (Weight was 10 stone 8lbs) nearly fell off my chair, i had noticed my clothes getting tighter but didnt think it was that bad. Went to a diestician and she told me to put a day eating down but on a bad day and be truthfull. My diet wasnt that bad, thought i was eating healthy but when you looked at it there was a lot of calories etc. Also no exercise. I went on a Keto diet for 2 months, cut out sugar and carbs. Also had a good look at the portions i was eating. There werent massive but a lot bigger than should be. I bought a portion plate of ebay and set up my fitness pall. Also started swimming once a week, it was very hard at 1st . I was hungry for a while and found eating out hard however the fitness pall was a real eye opner (Croissant has 280 calories) After a month noticed a difference, energy getting better and cravings gone, better at saying no to things too. Now three months on 1 stone 2 pounds down. A real differcne now. As am in lockdown (Ireland) am doing my 2k limit walk a day as can not go swimming. You need to look at your food honestly, everyone is dfferent, you need to find what works for you. Loosing weight is 70 percet food and 30 per cent exercise on average. When your friend goes for her run in the morning , you go for a walk then try and build up to a jog then a run as your energy builds up. Good luck

It seems that the reasons for obesity are, forgive me, a moveable feast.

Used to be metabolism. Being big boned. Genes. Poverty. I have now seen claims that being obese is a mental health issue, resulting from trauma. Of course having poor mh can cause someone to lead a unhealthy lifestyle which leads to obesity, but it is the life style that is putting on the weight , not the mh even although it might be a triggering factor.

But all these excuses are not facing the issue. For most people it is the consumption of high sugar, high fat foods in large quantities which causes obesity. Yes, there are some medications that cause weight gain, but let's face the truth, it is hard to explain the fact that so many very young children are frighteningly obese by any other explanation that they are eating too much of the wrong sort of food (for whatever reason, and it is not always poverty) and not moving enough.

Adults may make excuses for their obesity, but fat children tell the real story.

Stop making excuses

Does North Korea not have this fat gene then as the only fat person there is Kim Jong-Un

Most people know it is because they eat too much. It is how to stop themselves eating too much which is the problem. If we could solve that we would be millionaires.

Saturday - It's very complicated but from the first academic twin study I found - "The evidence for genetic influence on anthropometry has previously been established and has been estimated to be 60-70% based on twin studies."

Twin studies are useful to try and disaggregate the effects of genetics and (family) surroundings and environment.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20816022

I haven't read the full thread.. but...

I'm slim and the moment I eat anything like a cake in public people say "it's alright for you - you can eat what you like"

However, they don't notice that as a general rule I steer clear of the shelf full of goodies in the office - decline sweets when they are offered to me and stick mostly Monday to Friday to a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a bowl of cereal for lunch and a small ready meal or similar for my evening meal.

I also don't ever drink calories - I only ever drink water or diet coke.

I think things like - "Oh I'll just have one for a treat" and this being a regular occurance are a downfall to loads of people.

My husband is overweight - at one point he was obese - I would say that he doesn't eat that much more than me...

... however, I cycle to work every day - there and back obvs - and I generally walk out to the shops at lunchtime to buy a drink or an apple or something.

My husband drives to work, drives home at lunchtime for his lunch, drives back to work. He also drinks - a lot - a bottle of wine on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday night can add up to 3,000 calories can't it?

In my experience people who say they eat "nothing" and are overweight generally are lying to themselves and they never really notice all the other things that their slimmer colleagues do - I clean all my own windows, do all my own gardening and am a fanatic re housework.

All of these things through have not stopped my weight from creeping up a little over the last 30 years and the nearer I get to 50 the harder I have to try.

... so I get really narked when people say "oh you can eat what you want" :(

i believe it is never just one thin. but the summ of many.

Genetics - 100 % a factor. i'm tall and skinny like one grandma, my sisters are short and stocky and overweight like other grandma. I eat what i want, stay skinny. one sister has to leat completely sugar free to maintain weight.

Movement - the 15 minute run would make quite the difference, especially if done daily.

Hormones - this is a big one. the inly time in my life when i put on weight was when my hormones were out of whack. even after having them monitored it was the biggest struggle to go back to normal.

My brother was always a lot bigger than me whereas I default to a size 8. Sometimes up and sometimes down but I always find my way back.
If I sit and watch TV for a few hours I probably get up 20 times in that few hours. I make a cup of tea, get a drink of water, go to the loo, notice a bit of dirt on the wall which needs scrubbing off, go and get another tea, rearrange the cushions on the chair, go and plug in my phone, notice a book on the bookshelf that I should re-read and get it down to read later, go to the loo again ... etc etc. My brother would actually just not move.
IMO that has a lot to do with it.

I’m sure gut health is also important which is something I’ve been aware of with my young kids.

I agree @abitlostandalwayshungry

I’ve found this thread really helpful, so thanks everyone. Makes me feel that even if I do a bit to try and improve things it will make even a little bit of a difference which is better than nothing.

Studies have shown that obesity is also linked to your gut flora.

Feacal enemas are often used in cases of clostridial infections to repopulate the gut with healthy bacteria. It was noted that who received faecal enemas from obese donors became obese themselves.

*those who

It's also eating habits, your parents might be overweight because they have an unhealthy lifestyle and you are brought up fowling the same lifestyle, so yes, it runs in the family but it's not a genetic disposition.

Eating and exercise habits do run in families. Someone whose parents sit a lot will naturally do the same (unless there is something to break the cycle). However this is not the same as genetics. Nobody is has a genetic tendancy to be overweight or obese - if they did there would be overweight and obese people througout our family trees. Even the people described as ‘plump’ 50-70 years ago were at the higher end of a normal BMI.

Yes to making small changes and think about the long term. Eat one digestive instead of 2 and lose about half a stone over the course of a year.

@alittlequinnie it's great that you're at a weight you're happy with but don't forget that weight is. It the only marker if health! I used to eat just like you and got very poorly, embarrassed to say I was suffering malnutrition. cereal for breakfast and lunch with a ready meal for dinner offers very little in the way of nutrients. You can make easy swaps to nutritious alternatives with similar calorie intake and you'll likely feel better for it too

Faecal enemas?? WTF did I just read! You mean that someone else's shit gets shunted up your bum? That is one of the vilest things I've read since dragon butter!

Didn't you mean faecal implant? I saw it on tv. Poop tablets

I am technically obese. I work out a lot. I am very fit. I EAT ABSOLUTELY SHOCKINGLY and I would probably describe myself as being addicted to sugar with poor willpower. Definitely not genetics. 😂 which I am happy about, it means I can change.

My Granddad was pathologically obese, his children inherited that. Same from the other side, obesity was there.
Neither myself, nor my siblings are overweight. We don't particularly watch what we eat but we are pretty sporty. I love pasta, meat, ice-cream, chocolate and I'm size 6. We walk wherever we can, we go for walks, we all run. DH does inline hockey and DD martial arts.
And while we love carbs etc, we also try eating healthy, plenty of fruits and veggies. Combined with activity, we are slim.
So the "genes make you fat, not food" is a myth and a convenient excuse. If your metabolism is slower than someone else's, adjust your portion sizes and add more activity. Many people will ask me how come I can eat a whole plate of pasta and still be slim but they don't see that I'm not walking around snacking on biscuits or cereals, don't put sugar into my tea or coffee (don't like the taste), don't grab chocolate bars or crisps when I'm hungry between my meals. And you also need to drink enough.

@Bezalelle A poo transplant is often used if someone has very poor gut health due to things like C.Diff.

You know what you need to do OP... go for that run every morning

Ps I’m not fat shaming. I’m fat. And so is my mother. I feel like the urge to eat all the time isn’t something I can control, so hate all the fucking moralising about weight

I hate the argument “there were no fat peiple in the past, so it can’t be genetic”

In the past people didn’t have access to as many calories, so those more likely to eat more and put on weight literally couldn’t.

Now that we have access to all the calories we could possibly want, it becomes apparent who has the urges to eat more