Dr Parr Says…

Earlier this month I was at the annual meeting for the Southeast chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. The keynote address was by a genetic researcher, Dr. Molly Bray, who spoke about the role of genes in health behaviors. While heredity has been linked to body composition (muscularity, body fatness) for some time, the idea that genes can influence health behaviors such as eating and physical activity habits is somewhat new.

I thought this was interesting and a good way to explain individual differences and family similarities in diet, exercise, and obesity so it is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week. Many people, including many of my colleagues, are uncomfortable with the idea that genetics plays a role in health behaviors. This idea calls into question our traditional belief that people who obese, unfit, or eat poorly simply lack the motivation or willpower that people who maintain a healthy body weight and who eat a healthy diet have. It seems that genes explain at least a portion of these differences.

Does this mean that we are not responsible for our health?  Absolutely not! While genes may influence our appetite, food preferences, physical activity level, and responses to diets and exercise, ultimately we are in control of what we eat and how active we are. But knowing the role of genes in health can help us understand why some people struggle more than others to adopt healthy behaviors. It also helps explain why some people fare better than others in our obesogenic environment.

In my column I mentioned the Heritage Family Study which examined the genetic factors associated with body fatness, fitness, and other health factors. You can learn more about this important study here. I also cited a recent study that reported the discovery of two genes that regulate appetite. You can read a low-science article about that study here or read the hi-sci paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition here.

There are many people who would be thrilled to find a way to get the benefits of exercise without having to be active. Unfortunately, the only way to get the health and fitness benefits of exercise is to actually exercise. But there are some ways you can minimize the time you need to spend to get these benefits. You can learn more about this in my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

In my column I wrote about the popular “10 minute” exercise routines that can promote strength and endurance gains that are greater than some longer-duration exercise programs. I have written about the advantages and disadvantages of these short, intense workouts previously.

I also included a bit on spot reduction, the claim that you can burn fat from a certain area of the body by exercising just that part. Abdominal exercises are often thought to burn fat from your midsection and a variety of exercise devices are based on this claim. Unfortunately, spot reduction doesn’t work. Here’s proof: If spot reduction did work, you would never see people with chubby cheeks chewing gum!

I also mentioned research into an exercise pill—a drug that would mimic the muscular adaptations to exercise. While there is great interest in this type of drug to treat certain muscle disorders as well as to eliminate the need for exercise, it doesn’t exist at this time. You can read more about this research here and here.