Skinny Genes

By Stefanie Jones

If you’re one of those people on a perpetual diet that never seems to go anywhere, a new study from the University of Tel Aviv might be of interest to you. Forget Atkins, cabbage soup and forking out the cash for Weight Watchers, researchers have found that thinness really is in your genes.

According to Professor Gregory Livshits* from the University’s faculty of medicine, a woman’s waistline is more dependent on the genes of her parents than on diet and exercise. In the first study to find a scientific link between the body mass of a woman and her genes, Professor Livshits and colleagues have shown that thinness is an heritable trait.

The study, using 3,000 middle-aged women in the UK who were one of a pair of either identical or fraternal twins, found that body sizes can be predicted by genes more than 50% of the time.

The researchers are currently working on further study, which could lead to a ‘skinny gene’ test. This would enable women trying to lose weight in the future to know what they can realistically expect.

So if body shape is in our genes, is there any point in hitting the gym in a bid to change it? Prof. Livshits has a mixed answer. "The bad news is that many of our physical features, including our weight, are dependent on our genes. The good news is that women still have an opportunity to go against their genetic constitution and do something about it."

Though how much they can really do about it is still unknown, as Livshits continues, "Women need to know that what they can do about their body weight - especially when they age - is relatively little, and they will do it only with much difficulty."

So if, like me, you weren’t lucky enough to be born with lean genes, you will find it harder to stay slim, and be more susceptible to putting on weight in the first place. Good or bad news, depending on how you look at it. Although I may have to content myself with the fact that I’ll never look like Kate Moss, it does mean I can feel less guilty about what that piece of cake is (or isn’t) doing to my waistline. My parents, on the other hand, have a lot to answer for…

*Stop sniggering

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