Who’s in Control? You or Your Genes?

Controlling your weight, exercising regularly, eating fruits and vegetables, and not smoking are proven ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. Despite this common knowledge, only 3 percent of Americans manage to do it all. (CNN, April 26, 2005)

Most people would rather throw up their hands and say, “I’m big. My parents are big. My whole family is big. I’ve always been big. That’s just the way I am.” Or, “Everyone in my family has (insert chronic disease). I’m fated to have it too so I might as well live it up while I can.”

It may be true that your genes are keeping you from ever being a size 0, making you struggle constantly to lower your blood pressure, or leaving you without enough lung capacity to run a marathon. But, both genes and environment interact to determine our weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, intelligence, temperament, and almost every other individual attribute.

So, while we have no control over the genes our ancestors passed down to us (not yet, anyway), we can still choose to engage in healthy behaviors to the best of our ability. There’s still time to wrest control of yourself and your body from your genes.

Pointer to CNN article from Alamo’s Basement.