Do you like fried food? There are some people who seem like they can eat as much greasy food as they want without getting any fatter, while others have to avoid french fries and burgers entirely. Now, a new study reveals that how much these oily snacks can affect your waistline may be hardwired into your genetics.
Researchers have long known that obesity may be partly genetic. A lot of factors go into how much fat your body stores and how quickly your body burns calories-and genetics is one of these factors. This new study, though, highlights how genetics are more important than we might have first realized.
The researchers examined 37,000 men and women over the course of the study. These participants then filled out questionnaires about their fried food intake. In addition, scientists examined their genetic risk for obesity based on 32 different gene variants and their body mass index (BMI), according to Health News Line.
So what did they find? It turns out that while fried food was (not surprisingly) associated with higher BMI, but that those with a higher genetic risk had particularly pronounced obesity if they ate fried foods, according to Medscape.
"While we encourage everyone to reduce fried-food intakes and follow a healthy lifestyle, it appears time to consider how to integrate the novel genomic findings into our future health recommendations and practices," said Lu Qi, one of the researchers, in an interview with Medscape.
This study is actually the first to reveal that people with a greater genetic predisposition to adiposity are more likely to become obese when eating fried food. While the entire population should eat less fried food, knowing whether or not you're genetically susceptible could help you potentially make decisions that will put you less at risk for obesity. Instead, eat a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and occasional protein in the form of fish and nuts.
The findings were published in the journal BMJ.
