Everybody is attentive of the many health risks of being obese, not to mention the great effort to carry out everyday tasks, and the subtle, yet well-established, social discrimination those carrying extra weight deal with every day. Still, regardless of all this, an annual report has stated that the obesity rate in the United States is growing in the twenty eight states of the country in the past year.
If you are fat it must be your fault. That is what nearly all obese individuals are habituated to believe. Weight gain and obesity are generally linked to higher consumption of calories or to lack of physical activity. Not many people would dream of holding responsible on their genes. However this is exactly what scientists and researchers have discovered – fat genes can be inherited. To put it simply, your hunger and metabolism are restricted by a process known as ‘polymorphism’ in your genes, which can make you susceptible to obesity when there are too many calories in your body.
Some of the rare hereditary conditions, which mainly affecting children, also involve obesity. It has also been experienced that children of obese parents are at a greater risk of developing obesity than children of parents with normal weight. The reports and the experiments have also brought this fact in front of the world that the daughters are more likely to be obese if their mothers are and the same holds true for fathers and sons, according to a new research.
On the other hand, the same may not be right for obese fathers and daughters or for obese mothers and sons. Previous research has consistently focused on young children, believing that obese children usually become obese adults. But, the new findings now indicate that the reverse is more likely to be true. Naturally doctors consider obesity as one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, and while the country has taken steps to address the problem, the response has been lukewarm at best.
Millions of Americans and many other countries too are faced with certain barriers and obstacles to living that healthy lifestyle that everyone knows is so important, the high cost of healthy foods, lack of access to safe places to exercise, and lack of encouragement and support are all factors that keep people carrying more weight than is good for them. The Race, civilization, region and income all appear to have an impact on obesity rates in this country, and this is troubling to many experts. Genetics may not always be the determining factor for obesity.
The ecological changes and the factors have also been originated to play a role in deciding whether your genes actually lead to weight gain. Children’s diet patterns and food choices, for instance are often influenced by their parents. Good eating style inculcated during early days can reduce your chances of obesity. The inactive lifestyles tend to run in families – if your parents never exercised or were couch potatoes, you are more expected to follow their example.