Just because obesity tends to run in families doesn’t necessarily mean it’s genetic. This hot debate point is often brought up and asks if hereditary factors play into obesity more than we think, or rather if parents are in fact, are making their children fat?
Why Does Obesity Run in Families?
This question is a touchy subject, especially among over weight parents who are being told that they are causing their children to be overweight as well. Because obesity tends to run in families it points to genetic factors, but families share more than just genes. They share a lifestyle, a diet, and activity level as well. The difficulty in assessment lies in the fact that genetic traits and lifestyle are often hard to separate completely.
For Genetics
Despite the concerns and conjectures made by nutritionists and health experts, a growing body of evidence is developing suggesting that genetics plays a large role in the prevalence of obesity.
A recent study of adults who were adopted showed that the subject’s adult weights were closer to their biological parents’ weights than their adoptive parents’ weights. According to the study, the environment provided by the adoptive family had less influence on the onset of obesity than the person’s genetic makeup did.
Some have even gone as far as to say that the heretibility of obesity is equivalent with the heretibility of height, and it’s true that nearly 10 percent of morbidly obese individuals carry defects in particular genes that regulate food intake, metabolic rate, and body weight.
For Environment
Now that we’ve briefly discusses the possibility of genetic obesity, let’s turn the tables. Studies have also been conducted proving that there are adults who are genetically disposed to be obese but have not gained weight or have gained it but lost it through healthy eating and regular exercise.
A large part of environmental obesity being passed on from one generation to the next is a level of awareness. People who overeat aren’t typically aware of the damage that overly processed food (in large amounts) can do to their bodies and more importantly, to their health. A donut for breakfast, mocha after lunch, and ice cream on the couch for dessert may not seem like a lot of food, but think about what’s in that food.
Conclusion
There are many signs that point to the fact that obesity is genetic but unless you have an extremely rare gene mutation, your health is still in your own hands. If your grandparents, or parents, or children are overweight, you still have the ability to get your eating habits and lack of inactivity under control. 300,000 deaths in the past year have been due to obesity related illness such as diabetes, heart failure, and cancer. All of these deaths have been preventable.
Yes, it’s true, you may be genetically predisposed to eat more, to hold onto body fat, and to burn calories slower than your neighbor, but you can still eat a balanced diet, high in whole foods, and exercise regularly. You may not be able to control your genetics, but you can still control your health and the way you let those genetics manifest themselves.