Shake That Weight ™ • 13th March 2018 • 8 years ago
Think you can’t lose weight because of your genetics? Think again!
Don’t you just hate those people who can eat and eat and eat and eat and not seem to put on any weight when you just have to look at a custard cream and you put on half a stone?
It’s true that some people’s metabolism means they can munch more than others, but if you think you can’t lose weight because of your genetics, then it turns out you’re probably wrong! A new US study has found that genetics are less important than healthy eating when losing weight – so even if you think an inability to lose weight runs in your family or is built into your genetic makeup, chances are that isn’t the case.
Researchers at Stanford University conducted the study with 609 overweight adults. Each had genetic and insulin testing and were then put on a low-fat or low-carb diet for 12 months. They had 22 health education classes over the year, which encouraged them to exercise but placed the majority of the focus on what they ate.
The genetic testing identified several differences between the participants linked with how the body handles fats and carbs. You’d therefore expect each person to lose different amounts of weight, right?
Obviously there were small differences, but weight lost averaged around 5kg to 6kg regardless of their genetic differences or insulin levels. According to the researchers, the weight loss was down to healthy eating, and those who consumed the most vegetables and fewest unhealthy food and drinks lost the most weight.
Those undertaking a low fat diet, averaged a fat intake of 57 grams over the course of the diet compared to 87 grams before the diet started. Similarly, those on a low carbohydrate diet reduced their average carb intake from 247 grams to 132 grams. Both sets of participants reduced their average calorie intake by about 500 calories per day. With the average reduction in carbs higher than that of fat, it could also suggest that cutting down on carbs is a more effective way of losing weight than limiting fat in your diet.
Professor Lennert Veerman from the School of Medicine at Griffith University in Queensland explained it all in very simple terms that we probably need to remind ourselves of every now and again: “We eat to fill our stomach, and if that’s with vegetables, we tend to lose weight, whereas if it’s with chocolate or French fries, flushed down with a soda, we gain weight.”
Not exactly rocket science, but good to remember.
So there you go – you might think that it’s written into your DNA then you’re destined to never lose weight, but that’s not the case. Healthy eating is the way forward and here at Shake That Weight, we can help you with that.
References:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/matching-dna-to-a-diet-does-not-work/
https://www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-diet/low-carb-or-low-fat-diet-both-work-well/
