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I see genetic obesity in various relatives but believe modern foods adds to weight gain. You can just look around and not see many thin people anymore.
One of my siblings was slim in childhood but as a teen then adult his weight kept going up and he is an obese adult. Several of my cousins were obese as children, others developed later. My paternal grandmother was obese and lived to 88.
Some people do gain weight drinking alcohol. My father drank to excess and was thin.
I got lucky in DNA roulette, no obesity or alcoholism.
Genetic predispositions do not make you fat, overweight or obese, only food can do that. Thyroid problems do not make you fat, overweight or obese, only food can do that.
There is no pill, surgery, or procedure that can stop you from putting food in your mouth. You must do it yourself.
80% of African American are overweight or obese, if this was genetic, then blacks would not also be considered the greatest athletes in the world.
Quote:
African American women have the highest rates of obesity or being overweight compared to other groups in the United States. About 4 out of 5 African American women are overweight or obese
As an African American, obesity and overweight is a cultural issue (endless American junkfood + comfort food of stresses of being black), it has nothing to do with genetics.
Quote:
Since the typical soul food diet involves large amounts of meat, fat, and sugar, there is a large risk of health related illnesses such as obesity, heart disease, and stroke resulting from eating this type of diet. African-Americans typically choose foods such as fried chicken, barbecued ribs, baked macaroni and cheese, sugary fruit drinks, and sweets such as sweet potato pie, which are typical soul food meals.
I've always been heavy. Since I was 4. I was about 68 pounds at that age.
By 13 I was 150. And 180 by 17. Am 33 now and weigh 223. All efforts for dieting have been a failure. I lose about three pounds over thr course of two months and then regain. It keeps coming back. The lowest I've ever been in my adult life was 190 and that was after a battle with Colitis that spanned a year. I was so sick I could barely get out of bed and was only able to drink ensure.
Things I don't do
* I never eat out
* I don't drink alcohol
* I don't sit around
I've been tested for pcos and such disorders but nothing comes back. My mother was heavy too but I was not raised by her. I spent a greater portion of my childhood in fostercare then with her so its not a parental eating habits thing. My mother weighed as much as I do now.
I've talked to other folks with a life long weight problem and they have similar stories to my own. It's strongly genetic.
You may be an exception but I believe most obesity is due to diet and lifestyle. I believe there are some people with poor liver and kidney functioning and you may be one in that category.
My recommendation would be to continue trying to find a way to reduce your weight, best of luck.
We don’t have enough info about OP to agree or disagree. We don’t know what he/she eats.
I will say though that my niece has two thin children and one fat one. They were all raised the same with the same diet. My daughter has three children, two are thin and one is fat. They also were raised the same and had the same diets. In both cases the fat kids were very active in sports as children. Interesting, to me, is that they both were the third of 3 children. Maybe there’s a pattern of being less strict of what #3 eats? Now they are in their 20s and are no longer active, so the weight is even worse.
You have to wonder if there is a genetic component. My maternal grandmother was plump and so were a few of her sisters. Otherwise there were no fat relatives that I know of.
Last edited by gentlearts; 11-14-2023 at 07:48 AM..
We don’t have enough info about OP to agree or disagree. We don’t know what he/she eats.
I will say though that my niece has two thin children and one fat one. They were all raised the same with the same diet. My daughter has three children, two are thin and one is fat. They also were raised the same and had the same diets. In both cases the fat kids were very active in sports as children. Now they are in their 20s and are no longer active, so the weight is even worse.
You have to wonder if there is a genetic component. My maternal grandmother was plump and so were a few of her sisters. Otherwise there were no fat relatives that I know of.
Yep, this. It's pretty obvious when looking at a family like this (and like mine) that there is a genetic component to obesity, just like there is to hair color or eye color or other body shape characteristics. Four children, one is quite tall while the others are short; one has green eyes and the others have blue; three are slender and the fourth struggles with weight from an early age.
Basic biology wins out in many people. Maybe it's not "largely" genetic in most run-of-the-mill people who want to lose a few pounds, but when genes are aligned towards obesity it's a real problem.
Yes, each case is different. I know of a family where the dad is overweight, mom is not, she works out a lot...the two older kids are average weight but the younger son is obese. He stands out quite a bit as there are no other obese kids in the school really. He seems to have a hearty appetite...but what can you do, deny him food? I haven't a clue what he eats on a day to day basis but his family is well off so it's not a matter of them not being able to get the right foods. I think people assume poor children are often obese these days because they eat the wrong foods...that might be the case in some cases, but not all.
I've seen very overweight people lose a ton of weight...so it can be done. Some have had surgery...some just changed their diets .
Obesity is not "largely" genetic. (whatever that means)
Most people probably have some genetic predisposition to obesity, depending on their family history and ethnicity.
I agree.
It may be somewhat genetic for some (note that I said "somewhat"), but I rather think -- from my own experience -- that it's family habit. In my own case, several years ago, when I was in my 60s, a doctor said, "Victor, I'm going to print out a couple of articles for you about nutrition". I said, "Doc, do you really think that a man with four college degrees doesn't know that it would be better to eat an apple than a bowl of chips with dip? This is 50+ years of habit that began when I was a kid and what my parents allowed me to eat. Habit. All habit."
I've always been heavy. Since I was 4. I was about 68 pounds at that age.
By 13 I was 150. And 180 by 17. Am 33 now and weigh 223. All efforts for dieting have been a failure. I lose about three pounds over thr course of two months and then regain. It keeps coming back. The lowest I've ever been in my adult life was 190 and that was after a battle with Colitis that spanned a year. I was so sick I could barely get out of bed and was only able to drink ensure.
Things I don't do
* I never eat out
* I don't drink alcohol
* I don't sit around
I've been tested for pcos and such disorders but nothing comes back. My mother was heavy too but I was not raised by her. I spent a greater portion of my childhood in fostercare then with her so its not a parental eating habits thing. My mother weighed as much as I do now.
I've talked to other folks with a life long weight problem and they have similar stories to my own. It's strongly genetic.
You weigh 223 lbs and you say you are obese....
For some people 223 is an ok weight....I almost weigh that ...6' 1" male ...
and about 190 is a good weight for me....
My best friend weighs in the 240-250 lbs range but that just a bit overweight for him...
he is 6' 4" and built like a truck....at 223 he's looking skinny
You didn't mention your height / gender ....but I am guessing 5' 2" and female....
then ...yes, 223 is obese.
I'm one of six kids. We all ate the same foods (it was the '60s. We sat together to eat fresh home made food every night) and participated in similar activities.
Three of us have always been slim, three have always been chunky. Two males and one female on each side, so not a gender thing. Oldest and two youngest are plump, three middles are slim. So not birth order.
Mom struggled with weight all her life, dad stayed slim well into middle age.
So, yeah, I think there is a strong genetic component.
However, the two youngest both buckled down, followed good eating plans, and finally lost a lot of weight. Oldest just keeps getting rounder and rounder.
For others it's because they eat too much of the wrong foods and sit around.
I did a no-sugar diet for 4 weeks. It was VERY hard to do just simply because of the amount of added sugars in everything. Now, i was certainly not overweight by any means. I'm 6'1" and at the time was 225 and would come across more as muscular. However I dropped 20-25 pounds easily without any increase in physical exercise. Mostly came off around my belly area. The cravings were intense however.
I've since added some foods back in. I love my IPA's too much to give that up, but with a little excercise changing the diet did seem to make a permanent effect. I've settled around 205lb.
Downside was such an amended diet for me was expensive, and labor-intensive in terms of prep.
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