Study Proves that Exercise Can Conquer Supposed ‘Fat Genes’
There has been a lot of articles in the news recently about “fat genes,” and their affect on the body’s ability to fight off obesity. If you blame your genes for your weight issues, it may be time to reconsider. A new study sheds light on how exercise can still be extremely effective, regardless of genetics.
The study shows that exercise, despite the genetic coding of an individual, will always work to fight against fat and prevent weight gain. Researchers in Great Britain tracked the physical activity 20,430 people, and studied the 12 genetic variants that have been linked to an increased risk of obesity.
They looked at the genetic coding of participants, and made a determination as to whether or not a physically active lifestyle could help to reduce or override the genetic influence of the fat genes. What they found was that exercise certainly can override such a genetic tendency, and it doesn’t require very much of it. Exercise can help reduce the genetic tendency towards obesity by 40%, the study found.
The other numerous benefits of exercise are also extremely well documented, with increase physical activity leading to cancer prevention, improved total health, decreased anxiety, and much more.
“Our findings challenge the popular myth that obesity is unavoidable if it runs in the family,” says senior researcher Ruth Loos of Great Britain’s Medical Research Council in Cambridge.
