Jogging is the best weapon against the "genes of obesity"

People genetically predisposed to obesity can gain weight more easily than others. But having so-called "genes for obesity" does not make a person doomed to lose weight.

Example: A new study suggests that certain types of exercise can help prevent obesity, even in people who are genetically predisposed to the disease.

The researchers in the study badyzed information from more than 18,000 people in Taiwan aged 30 to 70, who provided blood samples and whose genomes were sequenced. Participants indicated that they exercised regularly and, if so, what type of exercise they usually did. [The Best Way to Lose Weight Safely]

The researchers then badyzed the genome of the participants looking for genes related to an increased risk of obesity. Then, the investigators examined whether certain exercises seemed to counteract this risk. (Researchers used several measures of obesity, including body mbad index or BMI, body fat percentage and waist circumference and hip circumference.)

Overall, those reporting regular exercise tended to have lower BMIs than others. This was true even in people genetically predisposed to obesity.

But a proven exercise is one that has the most powerful anti-obesity effect: jogging.

Participants with obesity genes who were jogging tended to have a lower BMI, a lower body fat percentage, and a smaller hip circumference than people at similar genetic risk who did not jog .

But for those who hate jogging, do not worry: Five other types of exercise were also linked to lower BMI among people at risk of becoming obese. These included climbing, walking, brisk walking, certain types of dance (like ballroom dancing) and long yoga sessions.

The benefits of these exercises were the most important among those with the greatest genetic risk of obesity.

These results indicate that "although hereditary factors are essential to obesity, different types of exercises can alter this relationship," the authors wrote in an article published Aug. 1 in the journal PLOS Genetics. In other words, your genes are not your destiny.

Interestingly, several other types of exercises have failed to counter the genetic risk of obesity. This included cycling, stretching and swimming, as well as the video game "Dance Dance Revolution" – to the disappointment of "DDR" fans around the world.

The results do not mean that these last exercises can not help with weight control. It's just that they did not seem to offset the genetic propensity to gain weight.

There could be several reasons for this. The researchers noted that for the average Joe or Jane, cycling and stretching exercises generally required less energy expenditure than the six exercises related to a lower risk of obesity. In addition, exercise in relatively cold water, as is the case for swimming, can stimulate appetite and increase food consumption, said the authors. And "DDR" is not a formal exercise that requires constant training, as is the case with ballroom dancing, noted the researchers.

Given that few participants in this study reported participating in bodybuilding, badminton, tennis or basketball, the study was unable to determine whether these exercises outweighed the risk of genes related to cancer. 'obesity.

It is important to note that most of the participants in the study were of Chinese origin, so it is not clear that the results apply to other populations.

Originally published on Science live.