No

by Perry McCarney

Created on: August 15, 2008   Last Updated: October 16, 2009

Blame is a highly emotive term, is it appropriate in the defining question of this debate? Does a person's genotype have an impact on their becoming obese, yes it does. Can it be "blamed" for the end result, not at all. People have free will and the ability to learn; succumbing to temptation or even addiction is a matter of choice, even if it is extremely difficult to resist, rather than genetic inevitability.

Our genotype, the genes in every diploid cell in our bodies - which is all of them except for our haploid reproductive cells, spermatozoa in men and ova in women - defines the range of possibilities that our interaction with our environment may produce as our phenotype, how we end up being physically. While that may influence whether we can become obese, it does not cause us to become so.

People, in our modern Western societies in particular, have become appallingly ready to blame external factors for problems, rather than face the reality of personal responsibility. Understandably so. Political parties encourage such attitudes to promote their political ambitions for control, commercial multi-nationals do so to promote their supposed "cures" for commercial gain and advertising repeatedly tells us of external remedies for problems that they tell us we have in the first place.

We need to accept just one basic and obvious truth!

Body mass can only increase if you consume more food than your body needs to meet maintenance requirements and energetic output. Although your body will primarily use carbohydrates, specifically glucose, for energy, it will metabolize and use fats and proteins if necessary. You quite simply cannot become overweight unless you over-consume.You need to ascertain the metabolic realities of your body, it varies for all of us, and then supply your body with the diet appropriate to it. Please realize that I use the word "diet" here in the context of its actual meaning, rather than the commercialized version multiple "health" companies and "specialists" try to sell us. Our diet is quite simply what we eat, no more or less. Specific diets are just that, a specific diet, but every single person in the world is "on a diet", unless they are in one of those areas where famine prevails. My apologies, but I find the constant misuse of this term in Western society, purely for commercial profit, to be extremely annoying!

Our modern society provides the opportunity to over-indulge our appetites, appetites that have evolved over millenia where most people in human societies have struggled to meet their personal dietary needs. Consuming what is available is indeed a genetic imperative because of this evolutionary history, resisting such an imperative is dependent on the will of the individual.

Blaming genetics is simply a way of absconding our responsibility for our own well-being. We do so because being able to determine the elements of our lives that actually are within our control, and those that are not, has become exceedingly difficult. Governments legislate intrusions into our personal lives that are far beyond their purview, because they are dominated by people that desire to control others, even though, or perhaps because, their own lives are such a mess that they are totally incapable of controlling them to their own satisfaction. Businesses have reached such large scales that they no longer have a human component mitigating their social impacts, they are purely profit driven, desiring consumers that believe anything they say rather than a discerning populace capable of making their own decisions. Capitalist economics has resulted in a world where many have large bellies because they overeat; unfortunately it is a world where far more do because they are malnourished or literally starving.

Recognize that there are still many components of your life that you do still have control over. Your weight is one of them. Diet does not mean starving, we all have diets, even those who are obese. Consider your consumption behaviors and make some choices for yourself. Seek help, people make changes more successfully when supported by others. Change your dietary habits and accept that it will take a considerable amount of time. We seem to expect quick fixes, even for problems that have developed over many years. This is unrealistic, if we want a permanent change. It can be done, but it takes time and determination. Recognize this from the start and you can make the changes resulting in a healthier, fitter and more satisfied you.

I have donated the advertising profits from this article, that Helium provides its writers, to the charity "Food For Everyone" because that seems particularly fitting.

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