Opinion
It’s not about laziness: the FTO genes and the microbiome determine your appetite, but your lifestyle determines your weight
One person makes a few changes to their diet, starts exercising more—and before long sees noticeable results. Another counts calories and works out regularly, but loses weight much more slowly. This easily leads to the explanation: “It’s just my genetics.”
Genetics does indeed influence a person’s tendency to gain weight. Studies of twins and families show that genetics play a significant role in why some people gain weight more easily than others. But genes do not predetermine how much a particular person will weigh. Weight is influenced by a combination of diet, exercise, sleep, age, health, medications, and many other factors.
Working alongside geneticists and other lab specialists, I often see how much more complex these processes are than the popular explanation of “fast” or “slow” metabolism. Two people can indeed react differently to very similar diets and exercise routines.
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This is a machine translation of the original article in Ukrainian. It may contain errors.
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