You swear it’s true: Certain foods seem to make you fatter, regardless of how many calories you eat.
Until now, however, nutritionists have denied such a theory, claiming that calories, not food, are the reason why people gain weight.
As it turns out though, they may be wrong.
In a new study conducted by Harvard University, researchers say that having a genetic predisposition to obesity–something that affects a small percentage of the population–makes you twice as likely to have a higher BMI if you prefer to splurge on fried foods. Conversely, if you don’t have these same “obesity” genes, splurging on pizza isn’t likely to be as damaging to your waistline.
According to one researcher, this may explain why some people can eat fast food and stay thin–whereas other balloon up just at the sight of a juicy hamburger.
“Our dietary habits and our lack of physical activity is driving the obesity epidemic, but the force of the behavioral driver is not the same in everyone,” says Bouchard, who acts as the chairman of genetics and nutrition at the Human Genomics Laboratory of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA. “We also have a biology driver, and that driver for some people is very minor. For others, it’s a powerful agent enhancing the risk of behavior.”
This hasn’t been the first time researchers have drawn a link between bad eating behaviors and being genetically predisposed to obesity. In previous studies, researchers also found that those who have the dreaded obesity gene tend to gain more weight when they practice a sedentary lifestyle.
It’s confusing, to say the very least–and those who have this gene often have to work harder to keep their weight healthy.
“Other studies have noted similar interactions between these genetic risks and other environmental risk factors for obesity, including physical activity and total calorie intake,” says Bouchard. “It’s not a sentence for obesity, but rather an increased susceptibility to obesity. Your peers can afford to have an extra serving or be sedentary and they will be OK, but for you it won’t happen.”
About the Study
Originally published in the journal BMJ, the study is based on an analysis of more than 37,000 adults who participated in previous health trials, whose genetic risk for obesity was evaluated. Their risk of obesity was also tracked by looking at food questionnaires and measuring their body mass index, or BMI. In this study, researchers found that those who had the “obesity gene” were more likely to have a higher BMI if they indulged in fried food on a regular basis.
Of course, those who didn’t have this gene were able to keep a lower BMI even if they ate fried food regularly–a statistic that can be frustrating to those who struggle to keep the weight off.
“They believe it may stem from the way some genes are tied to the body’s energy balance,” says Lu Qi, a Harvard School of Public Health assistant professor of nutrition. “It’s likely through the interplay between the genetic factors and the dietary factors in managing energy balance.”
Bottom line? If you notice fried foods make you pile on the pounds even if you’re watching your calories, chances are you too could have this faulty “obesity gene.” The best solution? Avoid fried food entirely and stick to raw or steamed foods as a way to stay slim.
Readers: What are some of your strategies for avoiding fried food in your diet?
Source:
Genes May Influence Weight Gain From Fried Foods – WebMD.com
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