This is a subject that could easily fill volumes of scientific and medical literature. But I want to give you just a few tidbits of information on genetics and its relation to your body weight.First of all, I want to assure you that YOU are in control of your health. No matter what your genetic disposition is toward illness or obesity, you can improve your health through exercise and a better diet. Genetic factors are real conditions that can make maintaining a healthy weight much more challenging, but they are not excuses to give up and start ignoring your health.
Recent research seems to show that those who ignore their health are more likely to pass on these obesity genes to their children. Clearly there are other environment factors that play into this, but preliminarily it does appear that even aside from those environmental factors, those born from parents with certain obesity genes are more likely to gain weight more readily.
However, those that exercise and eat a healthy diet are not only in better health themselves, but they are less likely to pass on these same genes to their children.
The bottom line is that genetics definitely do play a role in how quickly a person stores fat, but diet and exercise make a huge difference in how this plays out in the body. Likewise, certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or other metabolic disorders can present a challenge for maintaining an ideal weight. In these cases it is doubly important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, not only for your own benefit but possibly because your health could impact the genes passed on to your children.
Your lifestyle definitely rubs off on your children. So even if you’re done having kids, you should be mindful of the health habits you’re teaching your children. Keep in mind that you’re the role model for your children and eventually grandchildren as you consider making improvements toward your own health and longevity.
