Is My Weight Genetically Programmed?

Most of us are born with the chips stacked against us having a super-lean physique—our genetic code makes us adept at converting excess food energy into fat.

Your genes decide whether you will be tall or short, a born marathon runner, or predisposed to high blood pressure and heart attacks. And at least 50 of your genes determine how good you are at accumulating a padding of fat. For example, if you have an abnormal version of a gene called MMP2, your body can create body fat quicker than most. Around a third of women have this fat-building gene. Such people are blessed when faced with famine but cursed in our world of cheap, fast food.

Another gene, FTO, sets the gauge on how much pleasure you get from eating by determining how much of the hormone dopamine is released when you eat. People who carry a particular version of this gene are 20–30 percent more likely to be obese and will be on average about 3 lb (1.5 kg) heavier than noncarriers. You are not powerless, though—research shows that regular exercise can negate the effects of a belly-building, faulty FTO.

Where you store the extra weight, however, is largely out of your control. We are each genetically programmed to stow our rainy-day blubber in different ways. Those who store fat subcutaneously (under the skin) are described as pear-shaped—their fat sits mainly on the hips, thighs, and arms. Apple-shaped people accumulate fat around their abdominal organs (known as visceral fat), giving them a round belly. Belly fat stifles the organs’ ability to keep sugar levels balanced and blood-vessel pipework running cleanly, meaning that “apples” are more at risk than “pears” of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

There’s no quick fix for this; liposuction and surgery can’t target visceral fat. The good news, though, is that better sleep, reduced stress, and regular aerobic exercise are all very effective in freeing organs from their fatty coverings.

Live Your Best Life | Is My Weight Genetically Programmed?