weight loss and chemicals

Good morning.....First, I must admit that when I reread some of my entries, I see an amazing amount of typos and misspellings....I offer up this excuse: first thing I do upon awakening is write these entries...I do not put my contacts in until after I run, so I am kind of visually-challanged in the wee hours of the morning...I promise you that your Doctor writes at a better-than fourth grade level, so I am blaming the typos on my vision without contacts....am I forgiven?

A number of patients ask me whether their weight issues are all "genetic" and are they fighting a battle they cannot win because of hereditary factors.

We, to a large extent, are a product of our genetics and upbringing. We inherit our eye color, hair color, height and predisposition for being overweight. However, the other major component is the learned behaviors we adopt as a product of our environment. Did our parents base all rewards around high-caloric foods? Did our family shame us when we did not stuff our faces at a family get-together?

The genetic predisposition is no doubt a contributing factor...some of us inherit a faster metabolism than others. We watch some people eat all the crap they want, and not gain a pound when others just look at food and the pounds pack on. Not fair, but reality.

We cannot change our genetics...it is the cards we have been dealt. We can change behavior patterns though and even despite our chemical flaws, we can sometimes work harder on the behavioral end to achieve the results we want.

weight loss and hereditary issues

In the Washington Post this week there was an article about "good fat" that when present, results in more thermogenesis...i.e. the burning of calories. Those animals with a higher % of this type of fat had better weight control. The article went on to suggest that researchers are working on ways of inducing this type of fat development in people via either an injection therapy protocol or perhaps an oral pill.

I am not certain that this will result in a major impact in weight control in the near future but it does point out the genetic nature of so many issues, including weight control. "Metabolism" seems to be somewhat inherited as I am sure you know of people who can ingest 2X the amount of food you do, yet they have no weight issues at all. Most certainly, genetics do play a role in weight control, so it is not just the environmental issues, but also internal chemical issues. This is frustrating for many people because it just doesnt seem "fair" that some have to work so much harder at controlling weight than others. However, there is LOTS of room to go on the environmental side, so even if you feel that the genetic cards are somewhat stacked against you in your weight loss efforts, you can still most certainly intervene aggressively on the dietary intake part of this.