Is Obesity Genetic?

Our genetic makeup will have effects on our weight. However, a piece of good new is that we can still be able to control our weight with dieting and exercising plan even if we have fat genes.

It seems logical that people from “big” families are destined to be overweight. Science has made great strides in understanding the very complicated issue of why some people are more predisposed to gain weight than others.

Almost every week we see new studies published about various genetic components of weight gain and obesity.

Genes and Weight

A few years ago, there was tremendous interest in the discovery of leptin, a hormone thought to be the messenger sent from fat cells to the brain to regulate eating. Rats that did not produce leptin became obese just as people who do not produce insulin get the type 1 diabetes.

It was argued that people who were overweight or obese somehow had a genetic breakdown in this system and did not produce enough leptin.

It was quickly discovered, however, that obese people tend to have higher levels of leptin than those who are thin, and the way leptin works in the body is much more complicated than being a matter of a simple deficiency.

In fact, leptin functionality resembles the insulin resistance found in the metabolic syndrome that leads to type 2 diabetes.

It seems that when fat cells send leptin through the bloodstream to the brain to tell the brain to stop eating because the body has plenty of fat, the brain somehow does not get the message, and the individual keeps eating. It is as though the phone is ringing, and no one is answering it!

Leptin seemed like a wonderful answer that might explain a genetic tendency toward obesity. Unfortunately, we now know that the body¡¦s regulation of weight and body fat relies on more than just one messenger.

It now looks as if there may be twenty, thirty, or even hundreds of different messengers that interact with each other.

This is not to say that genetics does not affect obesity. In fact, obesity researchers believe that there is a strong relationship between a person’s genetic makeup and his or her vulnerability to become overweight.

However, the human genome, or genetic map, changes excruciatingly slowly probably less than 1% every one hundred thousand years.

Weight Control with the Right Dieting and Exercising Plan

So how can we explain the fact that obesity rates have soared by 40% in the United States in the last decade?

Certainly, our genetic makeup has not changed. With the exception of the rare mutations that cause severe morbid obesity, it seems that numerous genes, each with modest effect, contribute to a person¡¦s tendency to become overweight. The answer is that we are eating too much and burning off too little.

Many of us do have bodies that are genetically programmed to make us more vulnerable to gaining weight. But biology is not destiny.

Weight gain only happens in an environment that leads to eating too much food and getting too little physical activity. For people who find the right balance between food and physical activity to maintain weight loss, having fat genes does not make a difference

This means that, even if you have fat genes, you can still lose weight and control your weight. The point is that you have to know you should and should not eat.

You can also take dieting pills which will help to decrease your appetite. You should also do exercises every day so that you can really control your weight.