EON

New York – Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine recently weighed in on matters of obesity, genetics, and exercise.

In an article published in the September 8th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine the researchers, led by Dr. Soren Snitker, showed that while heredity certainly plays a role in obesity, physical activity can drastically reduce genetic predispositions to portliness.

This study focused on the FTO gene, previously linked to obesity, and the effect of exercise on individuals carrying this common gene which is shared by over 30 percent of European populations.

Study participants included 704 Amish adults and of those individuals with variations of the FTO gene, those who were more active showed no increase in obesity.

Simply, if a subject was active enough they were unaffected by the hefty influence of the FTO gene. The researchers concluded that “the increased risk of obesity owing to genetic susceptibility by FTO variants can be blunted through physical activity.

These findings emphasize the important role of physical activity in public health efforts to combat obesity, particularly in genetically susceptible individuals”.

Unfortunately to combat the effect of the gene, three to four hours of physical activity per day is required. While the lifestyle of Amish communities may be conducive to such a level of activity, the lifestyle of many more modern populations is not.

This is not to say that more moderate physical activity lacks benefit and it is encouraging to confirm that with exercise we can overcome genetic predispositions for obesity.