If You Have "Fat Genes", Can You Change Them?

It's not easy, but I think it's possible.

People who have been overweight since they have been children might consider that they have no hope of losing weight and keeping it off permanently. They think, "if I've been overweight all my life than I must have fat genes and genes can't be changed".

But consider the many cases of women who have been very thin since they have been children, and then start gaining weight when they are in their twenties and thirties and are never able to go back to being thin. It seems that their thin genes turned into fat genes.

So if you can turn thin genes into fat genes, it stands to reason that you can also turn fat genes into thin genes.

It's not easy because modern living favors a sedentary lifestyle and the abundance of food encourages overeating. But it is possible if you remain mindful of the fact that overeating is an addiction. If you are able to overcome that addiction by staying away from it long enough, than your body will change at the cellular level.

Also, if people can start exercising regularly and stick to it long enough, not only will they burn calories, but their DNA will change (as demonstrated below) and they will create conditions that make it much easier for them to lose weight. Plus they will feel better and happier because of the regular dose of endorphins they get from exercising.

Your genes change during your lifetime

There have been numerous studies that show that lifestyle changes trigger genetic changes. This means that what you do in your life becomes part of your genes and will affect the lives of your decedents. A 2007 study showed that six months of resistance training can cause dramatic changes at the genetic level. "The genetic fingerprint [of the elderly participants] was reversed to that of younger people—not entirely, but enough to say that their genetic profile was more like that of young people than old people," according to biologist Simon Melov, director of genomics at the Buck Institute in Novato, Calif., and coauthor of the study.

In another study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2008) a group of men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation. After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes -- including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.

Suppose that you cannot change your genes, how fat do you want to be?

Suppose you do have strong genes that propel you to overeat and it is unrealistic to believe that you can become thin and remain thin. If you can't be thin, how fat do you want to be? At the lower or higher end of the spectrum your genes set for you? Are thin and fat the only choices that you have? Why does it have to be all or nothing?

Genes are NOT the only factor at play when it comes to your weight. Your weight is an aggregate of complex factors among them are your activity level and emotional dependence on food. So you still have a lot to work with besides your genes to affect your weight.