Overweight and Genetics
Answered By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD
Q: Everyone in my family is overweight, including me. Does this mean I’ve inherited the condition and no matter how hard I try to lose weight, I’ll never do it?
A Scientists have been working hard in an effort to identify genes that have the potential to make us fat. And it does seem there may be a genetic link to overweight and obesity – but only in a small number of people.
As a result, most experts agree that while genes may have a part to play, they still don’t explain the recent rapid increase in overweight that’s been seen in the Western world.
They believe that while we might inherit ‘fat’ genes from our parents, we also inherit their bad habits such as a poor diet and lack of exercise – and it’s these lifestyle factors that have a more important part to play in weight gain. This is good news for you as it means with a few lifestyle changes you should be able to shift those pounds with help from Weight Loss Resources.
In the meantime, it sounds as though everyone in your family would benefit from losing weight, so rather than going it alone, why not try and get everyone involved? While you might meet resistance from a few family members at first, once they see everyone else beginning to look slimmer, fitter and healthier, I’m sure they’ll be desperate to join in!
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Sam, 29 lost
8½ Stone with
Sam was 19st 12lb, now 12st 6lb
"Going from XXL and 44" waist to M and 32" waist is really, really satisfying."
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Yes… You need to lose weight
Your weight is above your healthy weight range.
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You should lose to be within the healthy weight range for your height. Losing would also be beneficial to your health and could make you look and feel better.
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