It’s my genes!

It’s my genes!

01

No one will deny the fact that obesity is a world problem now. It is said that almost 40% of the population in the US are overweight. Even in China, where people were used to live a frugal life, the overweight rate has reached more than 10％ in recent years.

Overweight will affect one’ s health, and cause illness, and shorten life expectancy. Therefore, losing weight is a life-long goal and a tough job for many people. In the past decades, there have appeared many kinds of ways to lose weight. Some works and others don't.

For example, a crash diet is a popular one in which people change the types of food they eat with the aim to lose weight very quickly.To be honest, it is risky to one’s health, and most of the time it doesn't work, as the body just loses the water it contains.

Atkins diet is another popular way of losing weight. This approach was invented by Robert Atkins, an American physician and cardiologist, this diet strictly restricts the number of carbohydrates one can eat, while they can eat fat and protein as much as they like. That sounds great.

02

Nowadays society is much critical to one’s image than ever before. Due to the popularity of social media, people like to post pictures and selfies to attract attention. However, the public is too judgemental in one’s weight and it gives a lot of pressure on the overweight group. Overweight is not a glamorous thing obviously, but people should not be prejudiced on them.

Recently, research published in the journal PLOS Genetics showed that overweight has not closely related to what we eat. The twin studies illustrated that up to 40％ of the variation in one’ size and weight are associated with their genes.

In our bodies, there are some genes that control our weight. If you are lucky to have these genes, it is much easier to maintain a healthy weight over the years.

The outcome of the research is helpful for overweight people. On the one side, it helps them to deal with the struggle they might encounter when losing weight. They can learn to come terms with the difficult and unpleasant situation they are in.

And also, scientists hope that it might start to get people thinking about it in another way, in a word, not too mean and critical to the overweight. Some people can control their weight, but it doesn't mean they are morally superior or have better willpower. It is just that these people enjoy the benefits of their genes.

On the other side, the study will lead to the development of medicines to help the overweight control their size.

03

As a result of the study, people might say it is not their fault to be overweight. It is true to some extent but not always true.

Remember, the study says only 40％ is decided by our genes. They play only a part in our development, so we still have to be careful about what we eat and do some exercise.

A balanced diet will keep us healthy, and exercise will keep energetic in the long run. Just as the Chinese proverb says: eat less and exercise more.