Fat genes?
A recent investigation has been made regarding the fat genes, which it seems that is the number one factor behind the increasing rate of obesity in the United States of America. It has been discovered that since 1960 the American grow both in height and in weight. The results revealed the fact than since 50 years ago; both the women and the men in the United States of America are one inch taller and 25 pounds heavier. The Body Mass Index or BMI has increased as well.The Body Mass Index is used in order to identify whether a person is obese or not, and if it is, it can identify the level of obesity. The Body Mass Index represents a height-to weight, and it changed from 25 to 28 in the case of the Americans in the last 50 years. The National Center for Health Statistics conducted the research and it was done at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The studies revealed the following fact: in the case of the men, the height grew from 5-foot-8 to 5-9½, which is not too much. However that can not be said about the weight, as it grew from 166.3 pounds to 191 pounds.
In the case of the women, the results are somewhat similar. Their height grew from 5-3 to 5-4, whereas their weight grew from 140.2 pounds to 164.3 pounds. The biggest weight increase was in the case of the older men. The men who ranged in age between 40 and 47 saw an increase of 27 pounds, the ones with ages between 50 and 59 saw an increase of 28 pounds, whereas the people between 60 and 74 saw an increase of 33 pounds. In the case of the women the situation was different because in their case, the older they got, the slimmer they got as well.
The same situation happened in the case of the children. In the case of the 10 year old boys, the weight changed from 74.2 pounds to 85 pounds. The situation was worrying in the case of the 10 year old girls as well, because their weight grew from 77.4 pounds to 88 pounds. The 15 year old boys and girls saw an increase in weight as well. The boys, who weighed 135.5 pounds in 1960, now weigh 150.3 pounds. The girls went from 124.2 pounds to 134.4 pounds.
The heights increased as well in the case of both boys and girls. The 10 year old boys saw an increase from 55.2 inches to 55.7 inches, whereas the girls’ height changed from 55.5 to 56.4 inches. The height of the boys changed from 5-7½ to about 5-8½, whereas in the case of the 15 year old girls, the situation remained unchanged.
The thing regarding the fat genes is unclear. Some people blame their increase in weight on the genes, going that far to claim that the obesity is contagious, whereas others share a different opinion. Many of the doctors and experts say that the main reason why the number of obese people grows at such an alarming rate has everything to do with the lifestyles of those people. They say that the main reason why those men and women gain weight so fast is because they do not have an active life and because they make the worst choices when it comes to the food they consume. Even so, the problem is still there and it needs to be taken care of. Unfortunately, obesity will lead to major complications, from diabetes, to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and so on.
The people who have the so-called apple-shape have the highest risk of developing diabetes. The scientists have discovered three genes, Tbx15, Gpc4, and HoxA5, which they believe to be responsible for the fat percentage in people. They believe that these genes can be used in order to predict the body mass index of a person. They discovered the importance of these genes after they tested approximately 200 people, measuring the fat levels under the skins and around the organs of different people, varying in weight and BMI.
However many of the scientist and people considers the fat genes to be a pretext for the people who are overweight not to perform physical activities. For example these people believe that the main reason why the people are fat is because they have gotten accustomed with the situation and because they do not want to admit that they can do anything about it. They are simply used with eating unhealthy and being very static.
One study was done, and it reveled the fact that the main difference between the obese and the slim people is the way in which they run their lives. For example the person who conducted the research explained that the obese people do nothing in order to improve their condition. He said that the shops which sold sports articles were visited only by the fit people whereas the restaurants or fast-foods were crowded with overweight people.
The researcher admitted the fact that genetics plays a role when it comes to one’s weight, because there are people who gain fat faster then others, there are some who put on weight very difficult, and so on. However he simply wanted to demonstrate the fact that the behavior of the people plays a huge role as well.
A man needs between 2,000 and 2,500 calories each day. By eating 10 chicken wings from a fast food, one will consume about half the calories that he needs during a day, in a single setting. A burger at McDonalds together with fries has more than 1000 calories, which is very much. If the people would cook their food, they would be able to eat much more in order to reach these calories, and that means that they would be able to eat about 3 meals which would make them full.11
