From this article Proof: There IS a gene that makes you fat comes this information:
“Scientists have discovered a rogue gene behind the obesity epidemic.”
Comment: This epidemic has been a recent phenomenon. I could be wrong here, but my limited understanding of genetics is that gene mutations take several generations to become prevalent in a population. If so there is more afoot in explaining the recent obesity epidemic than fat genes.
“Those who have inherited just one flawed gene are 30 per cent more likely to be obese and 25 per cent more likely to develop diabetes than those who have two normal copies.”
Comment: Flawed gene? This is a gene that enables people to live on less food. It could be viewed as an efficiency gene that in millennia past have enabled some tribe members with this gene to survive during lean times.
Regardless of how you view it, what is one to do about it? The fat gene may be a partial expanation for some people being overweight, but that is no reason to give up on eating right and exercising. Eating right and exercise are beneficial regardless of your genetic makeup.
Part of eating right means not eating more than your body needs. This is harder (perhaps much harder than most of us will ever know) for those that have this gene, but one should not give in to the tendency to eat too much. Obesity is just one of many hereditary conditions or tendencies we need to confront. If alcoholism and diabetes are rampant in your family tree it might be a good idea to avoid alcohol and sugar.
Regardless of your genetic makeup or percentage of body fat exercise has great benefits. I have a client who would probably be classified as obese. He has been a client for seven years. In moment of reflection he told me how much the exercise meant to him. He said to me, “I may not be your best client or you most fit, but if it were not for the exercise I do with you I would probably be dead”. I know he meant it, and actually he is one of my best clients as measured by his level of effort. His statement had a profound effect on me, and it is one I will never forget.
He is not as lean as others, but he is leaner than he would otherwise be without exercise and his blood lipid profile is better than it would otherwise be. The personal training sessions At Kelly Personal Training in Austin and at Ultimate Fitness in New Orleans are high intensity personal training sessions designed to produce the most impact in the least amount of time exercising. Combine this with aerobic activities you enjoy and make modest dietary changes and you will be dramatically better off regardless of your genetics.
