Did You Inherit Fat Genes?
The Truth About Biology And
Body Fat
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
"Battle Your Biology? Fat Chance," proclaimed a headline recently in the
health section of the New York Post newspaper. Quoting new research and
citing psychologists, dietitians and physicians, the article says that more
and more evidence proves that your weight is genetically determined, and
if you're fat, "it's not your fault." "We've known for a while that genes
- more than environment and behavior - explain obesity" argues Dr. James
Rosen, an eating disorder specialist and professor at the University of
Vermont.
While genetics are definitely a factor, believing you are destined to be
overweight for life because you've inherited "fat genes" is the most disempowering
and self-defeating attitude you could ever adopt. The only way you’ll
lose weight permanently is to accept total responsibility for yourself and
acknowledge the fact that you have the power to change, regardless what
mother nature has given you to work with.
There's no denying that heredity plays a major role in how difficult it
will be for you to lose fat. You inherited a body type, a predetermined
number of fat cells, a metabolic rate and body chemistry just as you inherited
your eye color and hair color. In the 1930's, Harvard psychologist Dr. William
H. Sheldon developed a classification system for these different body types
called "somatotyping." While there are no absolutes, Sheldon identified
three basic somatotypes: ectomorphs, mesomorphs and endomorphs.
Ectomorphs are the lean, lanky types. They are usually very thin and bony,
with fast metabolisms and extremely low body fat. An ectomorph can eat like
a horse without gaining an ounce. Mesomorphs are the "genetically gifted." They
are lean, muscular and naturally athletic. Mesomorphs lose fat and gain
muscle with ease. Endomorphs are the "fat retainers." Characterized by round
features, excess body fat and large joints ("big bones"), endomorphs usually
have great difficulty in losing body fat. They have slow metabolisms, they
are often carbohydrate sensitive, they gain fat quickly if they eat poorly
or don't exercise, and they lose fat slowly - even on a healthy diet.
The tendency of endomorphs to store fat easily can be partly attributed
to metabolic problems. For example, endomorphs often metabolize carbohydrates
inefficiently. Normal people can eat lots of carbohydrates - up to 60% of
their total calories - and they still stay lean. Endomorphs produce too
much insulin when they eat carbohydrates and this leads to increased fat
storage and difficulty in losing existing fat. This condition is known as "insulin
resistance" or "Syndrome X."
Scientists claim that the tendency to gain weight easily may also be due
to chemical imbalances in the brain that cause people to overeat. Researchers
at Johns Hopkins recently announced the discovery a compound called C75
that blocks an appetite-regulating hormone in the hypothalamus. In mice
injected with the substance, 30 percent more weight was lost because the
drug caused the mice to eat less. More research is planned to develop a
similar appetite-suppressing drug for humans. Unlike Xenical, which blocks
fat absorption in the intestine, this new drug would affect the brain's
chemistry so that people feel full sooner.
Many physicians and health professionals consider these metabolic disorders
and chemical imbalances as genetically transmitted "diseases" that require
medical treatment. "Obesity is a disease and should be treated like one" says
Jackie Newgent, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association . This
idea should be viewed with a great deal of suspicion however, because weight
loss is potentially the biggest market in the world for drug sales.
According to Justin Gillis, a staff writer for the Washington Post, more
than 45 companies worldwide are trying to develop new obesity drugs, and
the stakes couldn't be higher. Gillis writes, "In world where a blockbuster
drug is worth $1 billion a year in sales, analysts give $5 billion as the
low estimate for sales of an important obesity drug. If a company developed
a truly safe, effective weight loss drug, and sold it for $3 a day to one
quarter of the 97 million American adults estimated to be overweight, sales
would exceed $26 billion a year in this country alone."
Basically, what the medical community is trying to tell you is that if
you are overweight, it's not your fault; you were born fat, so don't feel
guilty - and don't worry, we have a drug that can "cure" you. Sounds like
there's an ulterior motive at work here, wouldn't you agree? Before you
run to get a prescription for the next "miracle" drug, you'd better wonder
whose interests are being served; yours or the pharmaceutical giants.
Besides, drugs can never be the solution if they treat the symptoms and
not the cause. Drugs should be considered a last resort for the morbidly
obese who have already tried everything else without success and who will
face serious health consequences if they don't lose weight. The editors
of obesity.com said it best: "Weight loss drugs do not take the place of
diet, exercise, patience, and perseverance."
"Dieting can be an uphill battle against your genes." says Post writer
Joyce Cohen. Unfortunately, if you're an endomorph, Cohen is right. Losing
weight is definitely easier for some people than for others and that doesn't
seem fair. But that's the way life is. Life isn't fair. Let's be honest;
not everyone is going to become an Olympic Gold medallist, a Mr. America
or a fitness model. But don't despair - you are not doomed to live a life
of fatness if you don't have "athletic genes."
Obesity is the result of many influences. Genetics is only one of them.
Like it or not, the primary cause of obesity is your own behavior. Most
of the factors that affect body composition are entirely under your control.
These factors include how much you eat, what you eat, when you eat, what
type of exercise you do, how frequently you exercise, how long you exercise
and how hard you exercise.
If you have the genetic predisposition towards obesity, you can lose fat
like everyone else, you're just going to have to work harder and longer
at it than other people. "There is a genetic component to weight," Says
Dr. Thomas Wadden, a psychologist from Syracuse University, "but no one
is destined to be obese. If weight has been a major problem in your family,
you may not be able to become as thin as you'd like, but you can lose weight."
If you find losing weight to be a slow and difficult process, the empowering
thing to do is to look at it as asset, because overcoming this obstacle
will force you to develop discipline, determination and persistence. These
traits will carry over to other areas of your life and make you a stronger
person all around. Arnold Schwarzennegger said, "Strength does not come
from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you overcome hardships,
that is strength."
The first thing you must do if you want to lose weight or succeed in any
area of your life, is to accept complete responsibility for your situation.
In a short but powerful little book called "As Man Thinketh," the author
James Allen wrote, "circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him." What
he meant was that we are not products of our environment or our heredity
(our "circumstances"), instead, we products of our own thinking and belief
systems.
We create our own circumstances through positive thinking and positive
action and we create negative circumstances through negative thinking and
lack of action or wrong actions. In other words, we are responsible for
where we are, what we have and how our bodies look.
Some people get very angry with me when I tell them this: They say, "Wait
a minute. Are you trying to tell me that when bad things happen to me, it’s
my own fault? That I brought unemployment, financial hardships, failed relationships,
weight gain or even health problems onto myself? Because if that's what
you're saying, that's totally unfair!"
Well, my friend, with very few exceptions, (some things really are out
of your control) that is exactly what I am saying.
If you refuse to accept the fact that you are 100% responsible for your
weight, you will never be successful. When people find themselves in undesirable
situations or they aren't getting the results they want, it’s all
too easy to make excuses: It's my genetics, I have big bones, I have a slow
metabolism, I don't have enough time to exercise, etc. etc., etc. Making
excuses is relinquishing control. It is conceding that you a victim of circumstances
instead of the creator of your circumstances. Stop blaming and start taking
responsibility for your life. Take action! Start working out. Eat better.
Do something - do anything - but don't just sit there on the couch and curse
your chromosomes.
So, are you a frustrated "endomorph?" Do you feel like dieting is an uphill
battle against your genes? If your answer is "yes," please don’t just
quit and chalk in up to "bad genetics," and don't believe that drugs are
the answer either - they're not. Your genetics will largely dictate your
athletic ability and how easily you will lose weight. That doesn't mean
you can't get lean; it only means that you're going to have to adjust your
diet and training to fit your body type and you may have to work harder
and be more persistent than the "genetically lucky" ones.
Maybe obesity really should be classified as a genetically inherited "disease." But
frankly, if you have a "disease" that forces you to learn more about exercise
and nutrition, to eat nutritious foods, to adopt a healthier lifestyle,
to develop a strong work ethic and to become a more persistent person, that
sounds like a blessing in disguise to me.
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal
trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS),
and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom
has written more than 200 articles and been featured in IRONMAN, Australian
IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and
Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. For
information on Tom's Fat Loss program, visit:
www.burnthefat.com
