On Is Obesity Really a Disease? - Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a CNN podcast, world renowned geneticist at the University of Cambridge Professor Giles Yeo answers the question of why some people have really loud chatter in their heads about food and for others it’s only a whisper. He says that “With all the info that has come, it is now clear, crystal clear, unequivocal that it is a brain problem. It is a problem of our brain influencing the hunger. So, hunger is a brain scenario, even though the feeling of hunger comes from your stomach. And we now know that obesity is just your brain influencing what you eat and how you eat.” 

Yeo goes on to say that “a lot of our understanding of genes versus environment has come from the study of twins. And actually. If you study twins, then there is a range. But the heritability - so this is the percentage of a variation of a trait that's down to your genes versus the environment - the heritability of fat mass weight is between 40 and 70%. So, if you take an average it's probably 50-50. There is a big range we can discuss why I guess, but 40 to 70%. So, if you take an average then it's probably 50% your nurture and 50% your nature, shall we say?”

Regarding body weight and obesity, he has an interesting and perhaps surprising observation: “Obesity is not high body weight, but obesity is a state where high body weight begins to influence your health.” He explains that when you gain or lose weight you don’t gain and lose fat cells. Instead, he likens them to balloons which enlarge and deflate according to your weight. “They get bigger when you gain weight and get smaller when you lose weight. And the safest place to store fat is in your fat cells because they are professional fat storing. Okay. But the problem is at some point your fat cells will become full and then your fat has got to go somewhere else. And when the fat goes into your muscles, your liver, your pancreas, your kidneys, into organs that are not designed to store huge amounts of fat, that is when you end up being ill.”

I bet most of us never thought of obesity working this way. I didn’t. Yeo’s research conclusions are telling you to stop blaming yourself for your weight. Do what you can to be healthy and recognize that your weight range is already significantly predetermined by genetics. Most of all, banish the concepts of self-discipline and will power from your thoughts and speech. Instead, resolve your trauma history if you have one, learn how to better regulate your emotions, practice effective life skills, build emotional resilience and support networks, and develop self-compassion and psychological insight about yourself and others. Really, no willpower required.

Best,

Karen