Thursday, January 6, 2011

Body Fat And Genetics

Body fat has been society’s problem for the past couple of decades. Reasons why people tend to be obese, how they can lose weight along with the risk factors of being fat has been studied extensively. However, there are still issues that are not yet resolved, even by extensive research and even with the development of technology.
The Big Issue
One popular issue is whether body fat and genetics are related. This question has been bugging people of all generations, but most specially, today’s present generation. This is probably due to the higher incidence of obesity and the easier access to information by the public.
Taking Sides
Just like with any other kind of issue, there are two sides of the story here. Of course, there’s the school of thought that does support the claim that genetics have something to do with a person’s predisposition of being fat. However, there is also the school of thought which does not believe that genetics has something to do with obesity.
Back To Basics
Genetics is the study of DNA and how specific traits are inherited from parents to offspring. DNA is basically the blueprint that every individual has. This dictates what color and other characteristics of hair, eyes, skin, and a lot more body features you will develop as you grow up. Since, genes/DNA dictates everything that a person will be you can’t really blame those who suspect that it also has something to do with being fat or not.
What Believers Of This Theory Say
In the light of research many factions lay claim to the discover of “The Fat Gene”.  However, there is still no official substantiation for this claim since most of these studies have actually found different genes that are more or less related not to being fat but to having physical conditions that could be indirectly related to obesity.
Most tests are also administered to mice rather than humans. For instance, one team of researchers in San Antonio were studying brain injuries. They were able to delete an important defensive protein from a laboratory mouse. They ended up having rodents that had short stature and consequently grew fat in adulthood.
Additionally, another research team at Boston was able to find that creating a very small genetic change in DNA that they claim can be the cause of obese predisposition. The convicted gene, called INSIG2, has a vital role in producing fat. They also say that it makes an individual more prone to being overweight by merely changing its natural G-condition to a C-condition.
These are just two of the many studies that implicate obesity’s relation to a person’s DNA make-up. However, you should understand that most of them are still in the process of further examination and study.
What Non-believers Say
On the other hand, those who think that genetics is not related to being obese also have very good points that you can consider. Here are some of them.
They believe that genes have evolved in a way to protect humans from starvation, and not from an overabundance of food. It has only been within the last 100 years that being overweight became a problem and became evident in large groups of people. In fact, during ancient times, people who were obese were actually worshiped and admired since it was a sign that they had lots of food.
Additionally, the lifestyle of the human race has drastically changed during this century. Sadly, the majority of the genes of people today may not be fit for having a modern lifestyle. And since lifestyle is the issue, being obese is partially blamed on the conveniences that people have today such as computers, telecommuting, cars, elevators, remote controls, fast food, and the like.
Lastly, it is said that the fastest increasing population of obese people would fall into the impoverished category. They basically reason that those who eat cheaper, less nutritious food also have slower metabolic rates.  They believe that accounts for why they are more prone to being obese and not really due to their genes.
AllAboutHealthWellness Recommends: Fat Body To Fit Body

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