Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Question...

When there is a family in which every member is trim, fit, and healthy-looking, then there is a family in which everyone is overweight, including the dog, is it genetics or is it lifestyle? What is your opinion?

Oh, and I also wanted to tell you that I never say damn on my blog unless I am quoting my grandma (like HERE and HERE). Just wanted you to know.


Today on some of my other blogs...
-365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time: Zoo Time
-life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day: {please take me for a walk?}


PSSST! To find great deals on fun stuff to do in your area, go HERE!

9 comments:

alessandra said...

I think it's a conditioned habit, from childhood, if you see your parents eating too much and having a sedentary life, probably you'll come out the same.
(but I know fat parents who have skinny kids).
And if you give too much food to the poor dog, he will eat it all.
But may be there is also a genetic predisposition.
Oh, this is just a difficult question.
Life it's a bit more complex than this, eating certain foods also soothes emotions like anger and anxiety.
So my last answer is...ta da...a mix of all this things ;)

Sue said...

Definately lifestyle. Thirty years ago, you'd have been hard pressed to find many overweight people. With the influx of snack foods and huge restaurant portions and our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, the amount of overweight/obese people has literallly exploded. Large people (myself included!), like to say,"Well,EVERYONE in my family is large". Yes. Well-you ALL overeat. Plain and simple. Write down EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth for a few days. I know I was quite surprised to see I was eating TWICE the amount of calories I was supposed to be. Sigh. I do SO love cookies.......

Amanda B. said...

Lifestyle. They may be taught by genetics- and their family history, but everyone has the potential to be fit and everyone has the potential to be overweight. I am struggling with this now- my parents are/always were overweight and now so am I but I am fighting it. My children are nice and healthy now and I am trying to keep it that way. It is soooo hard and such a hard cycle to break!

Tiff said...

I think it is a combination. Not everyone's body is destined to be a size 6, some peoples ideal weight may put them at a size 16, with both being healthy. I've never been skinny or the ideal government weight, but I've always been healthy and could work circles around some of the skinny girls in jazzercise class.

Hubby was a string bean of a kid and small when we got married, but that was because he always did sports(gymnastics, soccer, etc) and then was in the Navy. For the past 12 yrs now he is IT director and travels 5 hr a day to work. Hence, sitting a lot has packed on the weight. So for him, lifestyle plays a major role because without constant exercise his body rebels and grows;)
As for our kids, 6 of the 7 are small and what would be considered normal or skinny, but my youngest daughter is borderline chubby. They all live in the same house and I feed them the same things and we have the same lifestyle. So for her, I think she got my genes and is just bigger than the "normal" 12 yr old and always has been. All my kids have been exclusively breast fed, and at their 6month check ups they ranged from 17 to 19lbs, while my youngest daughter topped the scales at 21 lbs, she looked like a baby sumo wrestler. But that was just her.

I know I got winded in this comment, but I do think it is a combination of factors and no matter how hard some people try(me) they will never be what people see as the ideal weight. I think people should focus on being healthy not on their weight.

Bellismom said...

I think it's a little of both. Say you have a couple whose genes cause them to be larger than average. They have kids who have a 50% chance of inheriting those "big genes." One kids inherits the big gene and the other kids doesn't. But, because the parents don't eat healthy the kids don't get a chance to eat healthy so both kids would be over weight. Now, take away the bad eating habits and the one who inherited the "big gene" will have more trouble getting rid of that weight than the one who didn't inherit the "big gene."

Anonymous said...

I think it is a combination too. If one blames size purely on genetics would be wrong.Each person can control their eating habits and reign over their own health for the most part. It is much harder for some to get and keep the weight off though. "Big genes" does not mean you have to wear "big jeans" LOL

Lauras Garden said...

There are times when I am shopping and see obese people throwing potato chips, pop and white bread in their carts and think it is definitely lifestyle.

Mostly though, I think it is a combination. Three of my four kids are "average". My oldest daughter is built just like her paternal grandmother and aunt - very overweight - especially around the hips. She was my skinniest kid until she hit puberty then ballooned. She is very active - probably 3 to 4 hours a day of exercise but can't keep the extra pounds off. She is 23 now.

Anonymous said...

I just had this conversation with a girl friend.

I say lifestyle. If you do nothing but eat and sit down watching TV or video games 24/7, what can you expect but to be overweight.

Everyone should watch Food, Inc and surely they will change their poor eating habits.

Anonymous said...

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