Tall and short, dark and light, freckled and tanned, we come in many packages with innumerable features, most of them determined by our genetics before we ever draw breath. Very few of these traits can we control, and we just have to play the hand we're dealt.But when people are earnestly trying to lose weight and failing again and again, many ultimately get the sneaking suspicion that they really are playing against a stacked deck. They may be right.
If you're one of those who subscribes to the notion that America's growing weight problem is solely a failure of personal restraint or will, it's time to reconsider. Solid research is helping us understand just how truly stacked that deck is. For some people who struggle with their weight, it seems that any given exercise effort will yield far less result than it offers everyone else because of what's already coded on their DNA.
When it comes to weight management, genetic factors get blamed for a lot of body issues where they may or may not play a role: "She's just big-boned." "He just carries his cargo up front." "The whole family is built that way." You've heard them all, and they might have sounded more like excuses than explanations.
But think about the genetically based elements that we already know are out of our control. People certainly do have different body types, with some of us thicker or thinner than others, and shorter or taller.Then there's the particular predisposition for distribution, for having our weight in certain places on our bodies, which could be the old apple/pear body-type contrast, or a tendency to carry fat on the arms.Add to those a predisposition for building muscle easily or not. And if you want to be very specific, throw in that natural love or dislike of athletic pursuits that would certainly come into play with exercise.
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