Episode 31: Can You Turn Your Fat-Genes Off? Is Obesity Caused by Genetics?

Many of our listeners wonder if they are just genetically programmed to be fat. Their father, mother and siblings may all be overweight and thus it is logical to believe that their weight is predetermined. In today's podcast, we will answer a number of questions... Do fat genes exist? If so, is it possible to fight these evil little genes? Is obesity caused by genetics? Genetics are not the stone slate of physical certainty that we once thought. It turns out that genes offer us many different potential outcomes through a process called epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of how your environment turns genes on or off. That's right, each gene has an on or off switch, even the fat genes. This means that your day-to-day choices determine whether your fat genes are activated or sitting idly by doing nothing... There is plenty of published scientific proof that genetic expression can be molded by lifestyle, however, let me tell you about a recent British study. Researchers tested the genetics of over 20,000 people and gave them each an "obesity susceptibility score" based on their results. They then analyzed work and exercise activity for each of the participants. Based on the results of their analysis, they determined that the people who incorporated at least 1 hour of physical activity had a 40% lower risk of becoming obese compared to people with the same genetic potential but less physical activity. This finding is pretty amazing given the fact that the researchers only analyzed one component of health and fitness. What if we took those same participants and taught them how to exercise for fat loss and how to eat for improved health and improved blood sugar control? I imagine that we would be blown away by the results of such a study. So, what are the takeaways from today's episode? * I don't care if you are genetically programmed for fat storage; you can make a major improvement in your health and body through your actions * Exercise & activity are hugely --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/cut-the-fat-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cut-the-fat-podcast/support