Laziness May Be Genetic

Physical activity and exercise habits may be predetermined by an individual’s genetic makeup, studies suggest. Reports recently published in Physiological Genomics and the Journal of Heredity show that to a certain extent genes appear to influence the level of physical activity in mice, which are the standard test species for exploring the genetics of mammals.

Researcher Timothy Lightfoot from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte put it this way: “Can you be born a couch potato? In exercise physiology, we didn’t used to think so, but now I would say most definitely you can.” The findings suggest that motivation and drive to stay active are programmed in the brain.

According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of obesity has tripled in the European region since the 1980s and continues to rise, particularly among children. Statistics show that in the United States almost 65 percent of the population is either obese or overweight.

Inflammation in the Unfit

Recent research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has demonstrated that persons who are physically unfit and overweight have elevated counts of white blood cells, suggesting that their condition puts them at risk of chronic inflammation. Tim Church and colleagues at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center took resting blood samples from 452 healthy men. Participants also underwent a treadmill exercise test and were weighed and measured so that their body mass indexes could be calculated.  After adjusting for age, the researchers found that white blood cell levels were lowest in the fittest men and highest in those who were the most unfit. The white blood cell count rose as the measure of bodyfat increased.

Chronic inflammation is a known risk factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s. It’s been known for some time that being overweight or obese is a risk factor for inflammation; however, the new research suggests that being physically unfit may also trigger inflammatory processes.

—Dr. Bob Goldman
www.WorldHealth.net

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