Exercising Reduces By 40 Percent the Genetic Obesity Risk

September 1, 2010

Weight Loss News

There are no more excuses for being obese. That is the conclusion of a study done by Britain’s Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit. Many people claim that they are obese because of bad genes that keeps them fat.

According to this recent study, just by exercising you can lower your risk of being obese by 40 percent. According to Ruth Loos "Our findings further emphasize the importance of physical activity in the prevention of obesity."

The study was done on 20,430 people who live in Norwich, Britain. Most of the study participants had 10 to 13, some even 17 genetic variants that are known to favor obesity. So all the participants were predisposed to being obese, or at least overweight.

By analyzing the data collected and using modeling techniques, a link between each genetic variant and an increased body mass index was established. According to the study "Each additional genetic variant in the score was associated with an increase in BMI equivalent to 445 grams (16 ounces) in body weight for a person 1.70 meters (5.7 feet)."

The difference between physically active and inactive participants was very evident. In the case of the physically active participants the increase was of just 379 grams (13 ounces). For the physically inactive participants the increase was of 592 grams (21 ounces) per variant. That means that for each obesity generating genetic variant, the physically active participants gained with 36 percent less fat. If that doesn’t make you want to start exercising now I don’t know what will.

Also the presence of each obesity prone genetic variant present in an individual, its chance of being obese was raised by 1.1 folds. Not a lot but the compounding effect can have devastating effects. But in the case of physically active participants "the increased odds per variant for obesity risk were 40 percent lower."

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