Coach replies: what do the “obesity gene” and the “broad bone” have in common?

The opinion of the “Championship” expert wellness coach Andrei Semeshov:

Lose weight – it is, believe me, very simple. Ask anyone and he will answer: eat less sweet/fatty/fatty/flour, do sports. And he will be 100% right.

The problems start when you need to move from the right words to the right actions. It’s easy to think about how “I’ll start running on Monday”, but how hard it is to get sneakers and go for a run on that very Monday. If the first stage – planning actions – everyone overcomes easily, then the second stage reaches only a few. And those who after the first difficult attempt does not give up and goes out for a second, fifth, tenth run – and a vanishingly small percentage. No, they don’t give up the idea of losing weight, they just go back to the stage of “thinking about it”, i.e. not doing anything.

But we don’t like to admit to ourselves that we’re just stalling instead of realizing what we’ve planned. To reassure ourselves, we come up with different excuses and reasons to continue “virtually” thinning without getting up from the couch. We read thematic blogs in social networks, watch motivational videos, study with interest the novelties of sports equipment.

And then the Internet throws up a new hot topic – genetics and its influence on body weight (simply put – fat percentage). A quick study of the issue leads to a logical conclusion: “Well, it’s clear why I can’t lose weight – I’m unlucky with genetics”. Active natures will even order a kit by mail – a cotton swab and a sealed envelope and send samples for analysis. Then they will receive a colorfully designed booklet by e-mail, where it will probably be stated that such and such genes can really provoke the accumulation of fat deposits. That’s it! Official confirmation that I’m not losing weight not because I’m not doing anything, but because I’m so unlucky with genetics.

Interesting research

But are these genetic factors so important and significant and really play such a prominent role? I’m pretty sure that after a while all the genetic “excuses” will become as much of a meme as the “broad bone” references are now.

The US is the country that suffers the most from a rapidly obese population. A lot of attention is paid to this problem, national programs to combat excess weight are being developed. There are so many right and good initiatives. And most of the recommendations are, of course, very sensible and effective, provided they are followed. But this is not without genetics. The Department of Health, in its review of the causes of the rise in obesity, delicately notes that the statistics are spoiled, among others, by people from Africa and Latin America, who “appear to be influenced by genetic factors”.

Okay, let’s say that Cuban, Mexican or Venezuelan women do have a genetic tendency to obesity. But then how to explain the fact that all these countries, according to the World Bank, lag behind the U.S. in obesity growth. It would seem that there the concentration of “genetically unsuccessful” women is many times higher. Or maybe these genes are in a dormant state in their historical homeland and become insidiously active after passport control? Or does the world-famous American food lifestyle with fatty-carbohydrate fast food also play a role?

Or here is a curious study by scientists from Stanford University, the results of which were published in 2018. In a large-scale experiment (The DIETFITS), more than 600 volunteers were divided into two groups – half sat on a low-fat diet for 12 months, and the second – on a low-carbohydrate diet. As a result, both groups lost weight, of course. Those who were undernourished fats, lost an average of 5.3 kg, and “no-carbohydrate” even 6 kg.

Here is an interesting point. Cunning scientists have conducted genetic tests in advance and determine which of the participants are more inclined to lose weight with the restriction of fats, and who the process will be easier when cutting carbohydrates. However, the final distribution of the groups was randomized. Someone was lucky and got a genetically suitable diet, and someone was forced to lose weight contrary to nature. So when summarizing the results, it turned out that all these genetic predispositions did not have any noticeable influence on the results. A wicked joke about the fact that there were no fat people in concentration camps comes to mind…..

Of course, everyone has a unique set of genes. And part of them is responsible for our appearance, tendency to thinness or accumulation of subcutaneous fat. Accordingly, someone can afford more liberties at the refrigerator without damage to the figure, and someone needs to approach this issue more carefully.

But to write off everything on genetics, in my opinion, is to look for non-existent excuses and apologies. Instead of doing something real, we prefer to stick cotton swabs in our mouths and then look at our genetic wealth with curiosity. Or you can instead get out your running shoes, buy a gym membership, analyze your eating habits. In short, use long invented and proven methods.