YOU EVERYTHING THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT FAT IS WRONG

01 Your Body Written Type Isn’t DNA into Your

The idea that our physiques follow a fixed genetic blueprint is both comforting and frustrating. It offers an excuse, sure, but it also removes agency. The truth lies somewhere in the doughy middle. “So far, more than 100 gene variants have been discovered that affect how much fat is stored, and where in our bodies it is deposited,” says Professor John Mathers, director at the Human Nutrition Research Centre at England’s Newcastle University. The catch? “Most of these have minimal effect and, even collectively, their influence is modest.” A variant in the FTO gene, for example, might make people hungrier – but it doesn’t make healthy eating and exercise protocols any less effective. Patterns within families, then, are more likely a result of their environment, habits and the resources available to them.

The good news is the latest research shows that a host of factors can, as Mathers puts it, “switch genes on and off”.