Some people need to train 73 percent harder than others for the same weight loss results, research shows

People with a collection of ‘fat genes’ need to exercise 73 percent more to achieve the same weight loss as someone without a genetic predisposition, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville found that some people with a high genetic risk for obesity need to walk about 15,000 steps to see weight loss — compared to just under 5,000 for people with a low genetic risk.

Even those at moderate risk will have to walk 41 percent more steps than those at low risk. This is based on the fact that people make no changes to their diet at all.

The researchers said this is the first study of its kind to highlight the exact differences in physical activity between people with different genetic predispositions.

“I think it’s intuitive that individuals with a higher genetic risk for obesity may need to have more physical activity to reduce that risk,” said lead author and professor of cardiovascular medicine Dr. Evan Brittain.

‘But what is new and important from this study is that we have been able to provide a figure for the amount of activity needed to reduce the risk.’

For their study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the researchers analyzed four years of data from 3,124 participants’ fitness trackers, doctor records and genetic information.

Using previous data on telltale genetic patterns that lead to obesity, researchers classified each person into three different groups based on their relative genetic risk.

If the participants had certain genes, or reported that their parents faced obesity-related problems such as diabetes, or hypothyroidismthey were classified as having a higher genetic risk of obesity.

People at moderate risk may have had some of the genetic components that contribute to obesity – such as individual mutations or a family history of obesity – but lacked others.

Those in the lowest risk group had no or very little family history and a lower than average number of mutations associated with obesity.

The authors found that for people at low genetic risk, only 3,660 steps per day were recommended.

For people with a moderate genetic risk of obesity, experts recommend about 8,740 steps per day.

The researchers noted that the number of steps recommended would vary depending on a person’s body mass index, or BMI, with those at the higher end of the scale requiring the most number of steps.

According to the CDC, approximately 41 percent of American adults are obese. And according to research from the United States, 400,000 people die every year from complications caused by the condition. the Mayo Clinic.

Previous studies show that up to 80 percent of obesity cases can be explained by a genetic predisposition.

A new study finds that there is a difference of up to 73 percent in the amount of physical activity needed to shift weight between people with different genetic risks for obesity.

The authors say many of the national physical activity recommendations are not designed with obese people in mind.

The results highlight the need for personalized approaches to medicine and exercise, said Douglas Ruderfer, professor of Medicine, Department of Genetic Medicine, at VUMC, who co-authored the study.

‘Physical activity guidelines do not take into account individual differences.’

Therefore, the researchers suggest that their findings should be used to form new guidelines.

“I think an important part of this result is that individuals can be active enough to take into account their genetic background or their genetic risk for obesity, no matter how high that risk is,” says Ruderfer.