It’s not my fault, I have fat genes!

How many times have you heard that from people who were overweight? How many times have you listened to people point out all the overweight and obese relatives in their families as proof that fat runs in their family? I hear it all the time. I hear it at work, at home, even at the gym. Somehow, that big butt is never our fault, but always someone else, and in this case, that someone else happens to be our parents.

The Myth

The common belief is that if your parents were fat then you yourself must be fat. There’s just something in your genetics that makes you predisposed to fatness. Your grandparents were fat, your parents were fat and this is proof that people with your genetics have really slow metabolisms that just like storing fat.

The Truth

Your parents are not responsible for your big butt. They did not force you to eat that chocolate cake and they did not force you to sit on your sofa for three hours watching that American Idol marathon. Your parents are not secretly pouring extra lard and sugar into your morning cereal. Furthermore, your parents did not pass along genes that give you no option but to be fat. It’s a convenient excuse that allows you to not take responsibility for your own actions, but that’s all it is, an excuse.

Your parents did pass along three things that contribute to your health. The first is diet. We learn what we eat when we’re young. If we’re raised on a diet of healthy food then we learn to eat healthy food. If we’re raised on a diet of junk food from McDonald’s then we learn to eat junk food. Yes, your eating habits are learned in childhood. However, unlike an old dog, you can indeed learn new tricks. So even if your parents taught you that a good meal means two hamburgers and some fries, there’s no reason why you can’t educate yourself. That is after all why you’re reading this blog.

Second, your parents passed along their lifestyle. If their lifestyle consisted of sitting on the sofa, smoking a pack of Marlboro’s while watching soap operas, then you might consider that lifestyle acceptable and healthy. If your parents liked going hiking, dancing and occasionally heading to the gym, then you’re going to grow up thinking of that lifestyle as normal. But again, even if your parents raised you with an unhealthy lifestyle, there’s nothing that says you can’t change.

Finally, your parents did pass along some genetics. Your body shape for example is mostly from your genes. So if you tend to pack along the fat in your belly instead of your legs, that’s genetic. If you tend to a larger or smaller frame, that’s genetics. Body fat % though is not genetics, unless your genetics happen to control the number of cupcakes you ate for lunch.

Personal Example

When I was growing up, my parents passed along a very healthy lifestyle. My dad was very physically active, frequently going dancing, hiking and biking. My mom’s cooking tended to be slightly heavy on the meat, but she also passed along great eating habits like a healthy but light breakfast, avoiding candy and spacing out multiple meals. Due to this, I was a very healthy child.

When I left home for college, all those habits went away. I ate one big meal a day, I slowly stopped being active and I ate junk food of the worst kind (If anyone reading this knows what hot dog soup is, you’ll know how bad my diet had become). So yes, I gained weight and kept gaining weight. Was this my parents fault? Was it my genetics acting up? No, it was me and no one else.

Guess what. Later on when I started eating and living healthier, I lost the weight and put the muscles back on. Genetics didn’t stop me, unless you count the fair skin I inherited from my mother, which did make jogging outdoors harder due to sunburn.

Summary

Stop blaming your parents. Your parents and your genetics are not making you fat. The difference between the calories you take in and the calories you spend are what’s making you fat, and that difference is completely up to you. Yes your parents might have passed along some bad lifestyle choices, but you’re an adult now and you can make the conscious choice to change those.