Discovering Health with the Amish Community: the "Obesity Gene"

By Neil Stadford, Project Weight Loss Editor September 10, 2008

It’s official: obesity may be caused by a gene!  However, the good news is, even those who have the “obesity gene” can overcome its effects through exercise and an active life style. 

According to a recent study conducted in an Amish community, those who have the “obesity gene” can overcome its effects if they exercise moderately for 3-4 hours daily.  While this may sound like an impossible task for anyone who has a full-time job or classes, it’s not hard to achieve if you take into account physical tasks you perform during the day, such as mowing the lawn, cleaning, taking care of children, or simply walking a lot. 

The members of the Amish community spent large amounts of time working in the fields, performing manual labor, or taking care of their children.  Not using cars also helped them exercise more.  A little over half of the Amish men who participated in the study, and about two thirds of the women, were overweight, while about one third of the women and ten percent of the men were obese.

The study found that those who had higher-than-average physical activity were able to overcome the effects of the “obesity gene,” while those who only had a low level of physical activity were overweight. 

The gene associated with weight gain and obesity is found in thirty percent of the population of European descent, according to the study performed on the Amish community.  The researchers concluded that the weight increase that resulted from the presence of these “obesity gene” was much smaller in those subjects who were very physically active.

Even if you’re not Amish and don’t work the fields every day, you may still successfully fight the effects of the obesity gene by doing simple things such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator; walking to lunch; walking to your boss’ office instead of sending him an email message; walking to the mail box instead of driving by it; walking the dog down the street or in the park, rather than letting him play by himself in the backyard; or parking farther away from where you need to go.