General Chat

There's more 'evidence' that body weight (particularly obesity) can be affected by your genes.
How do you feel about this?

As someone who was allegedly 'underweight' at the start of my first pregnancy (I was 7 stone - but was also an Agricultural Labourer - so it was 7 stone of pure, healthy muscle!) , I've put on a stone every decade since :-S
Fortunately, I'm still not overweight - but I could be in 15 years :-|

My gran, on mum's side was, like me, skin and bone in her teens/20's, but after the menopause was a barrel on legs. I'm slowly getting that way!

Then we have my mum's dad's side.
It was this side that got me 'into' genealogy.
Gran had, in a picture frame, a carbon copy report of a funeral.
Gran didn't know who it was, as it was on grandad's side.
This was the funeral of a man who was, allegedly, the heaviest man in England at the time.
He was 32 stone.

The end of the report says:
"Deceased was there can be no doubt the heaviest man in England. It was a heavy family Mrs. Floyd, wife of the above weighing 218lbs. Mrs. Powell her daughter 206, Mrs. Hawker, also a daughter, 173. Total weight of the family of four persons 1040 lbs".

That's 15 stone, 14 and a half Stone and 12 stone.
Henry Floyd was my great x 4 grandfather, Mrs Powell, my great x 3 grandmother.

So, if I put on a lot of weight - should I blame my genes?

Yes I think so , I have always battled with my weight from being a small child and bullied by my older sisters, they were always skinny and tall and I was always tubby and small. I have the same figure as my mum hour glass, my sisters took after my dad.

Now they have gone through life being able to eat what they like, we have all always been active. They have piled on the weight as they have got older as we all do but I know how to control it better ;-) plus I always had the bigger boobs :-0

Our daughters out of 5 between us 3 take after my mum and I.


Sometimes I do think obesity is down to diet and life styles.

My sister always had the 'body'.
Now we're both post menopausal she's the same, but my body weight has gone that little bit further :-| :-| :-|
Though not overweight - I feel fat!

Wouldn’t it be, initially, down to metabolism? Is that genetic/hereditary or the luck of the draw?

Well, in a sense, but how you live your life can affect your metabolism mote than genetics.

From 'Metabolism Myths Debunked' - by Marc Plano

"Metabolism is genetic and can’t be changed. False. Well, partly false.
All humans (and actually all living things) are born with the ability to break down food in order to create energy. In this sense, metabolism is genetic. “Metabolism is as unique as a fingerprint, some people metabolize food very fast and others very slow,” says Plano. Whether metabolism is “fast” or “slow” is determined by metabolic rate, called basal metabolic rate or BMR, which is the amount of calories one burns while at rest. Someone with a low BMR will burn fewer calories while at rest, while someone with a high BMR will burn more calories while at rest.
For every pound of muscle the body burns 35 calories a day, while for every pound of fat burns just two calories per day. Increased muscles and muscle density will lead to the body burning more calories, which in turn will raise the body’s BMR."

Also, certain genetic health problems can have an effect on your metabolism. For example, hypothyroidism can cause decreased metabolism, whereas hyperthyroidism can cause increased metabolism.

So it appears your weight could be affected by your metabolism - but you have more control - however, it is genetic too!

Also, the amount and make-up of your gut flora will have an effect, lots of research into this currently.

Yes, that's interesting, isn't it?
Who fancies a fecal transplant! :-S
I should imagine Antibiotics could lead to a lot of 'healthy' gut bacteria disappearing.

My sister and one brother were like rakes, so was I until I had second child.

My kids are 2 x average and 1 x rake (well stick TBH) but he is 6' 4"

I can lose weight if I try but I have had an enforced weigh loss of 22lb due to the last operation.

My genes analysis said my genetic weight trait was intermediate as was my BMI.

What interested me more was that I had the following:

Vit A Higher blood serum level
Vit B12 lower
Vit D inconclusive (I do now take supplements)
Vit E lower

Intermediate response to Vit E

Foliate High
Calcium High
blah, blah for more results,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The amazing result was Iron blood serum HIGH lol

Now as I am always deficient in Vit B12, D and Potassium the results are only as good as the database they use.

A few more hundred thousand participants and I expect the results to change.

In the meantime I'll not worry about those notifications.

I was 7st12 when I married and until I had my second child (I was 27 then. I hardly put on any weight with both pregnancies. I went up to 8 stone and stayed there until I got a part time school lunch time job in a school with an excellent kitchen for school dinners which were part of our wages. I went up to 8 stone 12. I am now 2 stone heavier than that and probably overweight. Last year this time I was 11 stone 7 but by careful eating (I don't do diets) I have reduced by 9 pounds, I can't seem to get any lower.

My Mum was very thin until post menopause when she acquired a round tummy and put on weight. She had 4 sisters who reached adulthood, all four were overweight, big but not huge. She also had 3 brothers, one was very big the other two were thin. Dad was not overweight, a bit chunky as he got older but mostly quite slim, he had two brothers one was thin one very big. So I come from a mixed family.

I think it is a mixture of genes and lifestyle. After all if people have overweight parents it could be that they don't have a healthy lifestyle, so the offspring will be the same.

It's good to gain weight with age as there will be some to lose as it is harder to bounce back when 'of an age'.

Yes, Island, I say that every day!! :-D :-D :-D ;-)

Is it Genes or learned behaviour as in bad food habits? Then again I was thin until I started cooking for the kids and always picking at the food :-D

I blame the beer!

:-D :-D :-D :-D

Guilty! ..but it IS good for you!

My late Mum was slim until she'd had us three kids, but was overweight in her later years. She also developed diabetes in her 60s, using medication and diet at first but then having to learn to inject herself after a heart attack.

I was a skinny kid and around 8 st. (5'6" tall) before I had my son. Thereafter I got to to 9 st and have continued to gain weight so I am now over 13 st. I have managed to lose a few lbs recently but I love food and have a very sweet tooth. O.h. can't walk well now due to very dodgy knees so if we go out we can walk very little, he stumbles, and is wearing a knee brace. Therefore I don't get to walk much and certainly not briskly. For many reasons I don't get out much alone so not getting the exercise I need.

O.h. retires on my late daughter's birthday, I am dreading him being home 24/7.

Lizx