Genes big factor in cases of childhood obesity.

hcass

I was listening to Matt Cooper there and an expert in obesity from an Irish children's hospital (can't remember her name or the hospital) came on and stated that childhood obesity is not the fault of parents but the fault of genes.

She says some kids can eat crisps, fizzy drinks and chips and not get fat while others (with the bad genes) will get fat and it's through no fault of their own or the fault of their parents. It's a "condition" and parents need support not to be blamed. While I do agree that parents need to be supported - telling them that the problem is genetic is totally irresponsible if you ask me.

This wasn't disputed by Matt or anyone else (she had the only say, no one on to debate the opposite).

It reminded me of a friend of mine who was told (by her diabetes consultant/doctor) that both her diabetes (type 2) and weight problem, were genetic and there was little she could have done to stop it happening or to stop it getting worse. HE discouraged her from losing weight - as she told him losing weight was so tough and stressing her out. This, of course, gave her invitation to eat as much ****e as she liked and exercise as little as possible. This woman was once slim by the way, not overweight - she didn't have a thyroid problem or other illness linked to putting on weight excessively.

Now, I know some people are predisposed to certain conditions but we all know that you can avoid or at the very least, limit the effects of these illnesses by following a good diet and exercise plan.

Has anyone else heard this type of thing? Am I overreacting here? What are these doctors reading/researching that they don't know simple facts that everyone else seems to know?

Pterosaur

I don't know about this, Is it not a case of forming good habits and being in a calorie equilibrium?

fussyonion

I don't believe your weight has anything to do with your genetic makeup.
You do see fat parents with fat children but that's down to the food they eat and the lack of exercise.

I know a woman who has been overweight for years and her daughter was nearly the same size of her; for much of her childhood and teens and I used to think "Oh maybe it's because her mother is big", but no.
It was down to the cr*p they both ate.

The same girl went on to lose weight and lost over eleven stone through healthy eating and exercising and she's kept the weight off for the past few years.
Her mother also lost a couple of stone through one of those slimming clubs, so it's obvious they are capable of losing weight.

Also, unless you're in the low percentage of the population who have weight issues due to medical condition, then it's a matter of learning how to eat better and exercise more.

Being fat is a choice. People choose to eat terribly and not exercise, so they gain weight.

It's all a big excuse with people because they can't be ar*ed to change their lives.

ford2600

The evidence from many overfeeding studies is that people vary in their resistance to gaining fat mass for the same calorie surplus; they also vary in how easily they lose it after study finishes.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/283/5399/212

You'll find many more with Google scholar

Genes are a factor, how big an influence they will have will depend how obesogenic the food environment is. The genes haven't changed over the years; the environment has changed for lots almost beyond recognition.

For many the damage done to the system which regulates bodyfat is irreversible.

I'm lucky, under than the odd bulking phase I'm the same weight since I was 18, without ever dieting, counting a calorie etc etc.

hcass

I totally agree - but how can people start to take responsibility for their health if doctors are telling them that it is not their fault. That it is genes! I mean this doctor on Today Fm was the childhood obesity specialist and she is telling parents that they are not to blame for their kids' weight issues - that genes play a huge factor and therefore they needn't blame themselves or feel any guilt.

How can she say these things? How is that medically responsible?

Cake Man

hcass wrote: »

She says some kids can eat crisps, fizzy drinks and chips and not get fat while others (with the bad genes) will get fat and it's through no fault of their own or the fault of their parents.

Has anyone else heard this type of thing? Am I overreacting here? What are these doctors reading/researching that they don't know simple facts that everyone else seems to know?

So going by her logic, the laws of thermodynamics do not apply to children but picks and chooses who it feels like applying its laws to!
Yes unfortunately this way of thinking is common these days thanks to the despicable movement known as "body positivity" which celebrates all types of obese and overweight. They convince themselves that they are to be applauded for their rolls of fat and anyone who dares point out that their lifestyle is horrendously unhealthy is proclaimed as fatphobic and against them.


Nobody is born overweight, it requires excess energy (calories/food) to put on that weight and the human body cannot just manufacture this energy out of nothing. To do so would essentially be breaking physics but yet many claim they are predisposed to be like that and refuse to accept years of excessive eating has got them that way. Certain medications can have a slight affect on metabolism and/or increase appetite but people commonly (and incorrectly) claim medication alone has made them put on weight when the reality is the effects of the medication have lead to more eating. People just don't like to admit they are wrong or accept responsibility for something unfortunately and it's easier to blame someone or something else.

Mellor

It should be obvious to anyone who understands the topic that saying it's down to your genes is wrong. But by the same token, saying it's nothing to do with genes is equally wrong imo.

Peregrinus

"Guilt", "blame" and "fault" are not medical concepts, and possibly what this unnamed obesity expert from this unnamed children's hospital was challenging is the mindset which seeks to moralise issues of diet, fitness and health.

"It's not your fault" is not the same thing as "you can do nothing about it, and therefore you need not try". I have hypertension, and this is genetic, or at least partly so. That's not my fault. But that doesn't mean that it's unnecessary, unimportant or pointless for me to limit my sodium intake, take regular exercise, etc, etc. On the contrary, it means that it's more than ordinarily necessary, important, etc for me to do so. That I am challenged in this way may be a misfortune, but it's not a moral failing.

It seems to me that moralising issues of diet, weight, etc is (ironically) demoralising and demotivating. Telling someone that they are a bad person or a bad parent does little to help the understand the medical dimensions of the problem they face, or to equip them to make the choices that will help to address the issue. I mean, I'm a bad person, right? And, pretty much by definition, bad people make bad choices, so I'm positively the last person who can be expected successfully to address this.

Reject the moralising and just present this in terms of a challenge. You've not inherited your mother's eyesight, thank God, so you don't need the bottle-end glasses that she has been afflicted with all her life. But you jhave inherited your father's propensity to gain significant weight on even a modest calorie surplus, so this is something you have a particular need to keep an eye on. And you need to be aware that your kids may have in turn inherited this from you. That seems to me to be much more empowering message to communicate than "you are a wicked and shameful person!"

jive

Fat kids is a fault of the parents. Genetic make up will make a tiny % of difference in healthy kids. I don't know what the rate of childhood obesity was 50 years ago but you can be sure as shthe genes haven't changed significantly since then to contribute to the rate we see today.

Spreading misinformation like that on the national airwaves is dangerous; people need to take responsibility for their and their children's weight management because nobody else can do it for them.

Macy0161

I'm sure a small percentage is down to gene's, but like Adult obesity, it's a very small number where it is gene's or medical conditions. Having more propensity to put on weight doesn't mean there's nothing you can do about it as an adult or a parent.

ford2600

https://www.todayfm.com/The-Last-Word-with-Matt-Cooper/listen-back

Jesus talk about taking the Dr out of context, I wonder how many who are outraged actually listened to her? It's from 5.30 -10.30 mins on clip.

Genetics play a role in the level of body fat we have that is hardly up for debate? Genetics and the environment are the factors that decide if a child will be fat or not. Some children, don't gain weight early in life in spite of pretty horrible diets, some do. That's about as much as she said, along with education being key. Along with the sorry truth that for many children it is often too late by the time she gets to treat them. That's beyond sad

cmyk

hcass wrote: »

I was listening to Matt Cooper there and an expert in obesity from an Irish children's hospital (can't remember her name or the hospital) came on and stated that childhood obesity is not the fault of parents but the fault of genes.

You heard something completely different than I did.

hcass wrote: »

Has anyone else heard this type of thing? Am I overreacting here? What are these doctors reading/researching that they don't know simple facts that everyone else seems to know?

Yes, it's been said before by plenty of experts on the front lines of dealing with obesity so I'd be inclined to listen to them. Donal O'Shea regularly discusses the (depressing) statistics involved in reversing obesity.

What simple facts do you think they are missing?

Peregrinus wrote: »

"It's not your fault" is not the same thing as "you can do nothing about it, and therefore you need not try".

I agree 100% and that's the underlying message I took from the interview. Empower people with responsibility, explain likely outcomes and educate them on how to do something about it.

hcass

You didn't hear her say that obesity was caused by genes? I was certain she said that - What did she say?

Simple facts like - the rates of obesity in Ireland (and other western countries) have gone through the roof in the last 20 - 30 years. Why was this not a problem before if genes are the issue and not poor diet and lack of exercise?

Or that children from disadvantaged areas are much more likely to suffer from childhood obesity due to lack of education about diet/nutrition/fitness rather than bad genes.

Nervous Wreck

Parents are the biggest factor in childhood obesity.

Peregrinus

hcass wrote: »

You didn't hear her say that obesity was caused by genes? I was certain she said that - What did she say?

Simple facts like - the rates of obesity in Ireland (and other western countries) have gone through the roof in the last 20 - 30 years. Why was this not a problem before if genes are the issue and not poor diet and lack of exercise?

Or that children from disadvantaged areas are much more likely to suffer from childhood obesity due to lack of education about diet/nutrition/fitness rather than bad genes.

Genes don't operate in the abstract; they operate in an evironment.

If people die of TB at the age of 35, you'll never observe that they have a genetic predisposition to heart failure in the 60s. As effective vaccination and treatment for TB is rolled out, rates of heart disease go up. Is this attributable to genetics? Yes. Have genes changed? No; the environment has changed.

So it could be with obesity. As many kids has a genetic predisposition as do today, but they lived in a very different nutritional environment. For economic and cultural reasons, kids (and adults) today live in a nutritional enviroment - we have a different attitude to eating between meals, we eat out much more than we used to, we eat a lot more processed foods, we eat a lot more convenience foods, etc, etc. But only some people in this new environment become obese. And at least part of the reason why they become fat in this nutritional environment, when others with what may be quite similar eating habits do not, is down to genetics.

Zillah

ford2600 wrote: »

https://www.todayfm.com/The-Last-Word-with-Matt-Cooper/listen-back

Jesus talk about taking the Dr out of context, I wonder how many who are outraged actually listened to her? It's from 5.30 -10.30 mins on clip.

She's fairly reasonable. The OP is completely misrepresenting her with that opening line. I am a little uncomfortable with the emphasis she puts on the gene factors. Overweight people are usually as addicted to excuses as they are sugar - I worry how many come away from this armed with half-remembered quotes from an obesity specialist telling them it's not their fault.

The thing is, whether genes are 5% or 90% of the situation, the solution is still the same, so I don't see what is to be gained by anything that undermines a person's sense of agency in the situation.

The way she talks, though, it does leave one with the impression that there are kids eating fairly normal diets who end up obese and everyone stands around confused and aghast as to how it happens. If you have an obese 8-year-old you're letting them guzzle 7-up for breakfast. You don't get that fat that early without gross misparenting.