Fitting Into Those Skinny Genes (Part 1)

Do our genes play a role in weight?

Some coworkers and I got into a heated discussion about whether some people draw the genetic short straw when it comes to weight or if people from heavier families are more likely to pack on the pounds because they are raised on Quarter Pounders and Häagen Dazs. We went back and forth talking about friends who ended up skinny in overweight families, friends who ended up overweight in skinny families, and, more often, people who look a whole lot like the rest of their families.

All of these stories came with the added bonus of eating up a good chunk of my morning at work (shhh, don’t tell my boss and Curtis, if you’re reading this, I’m totally making this up); however, this really didn’t get us any closer to solving the nature vs. nurture debate. Sorry, we couldn’t have been of more help, field of psychology.



So, I did what the geek-girl inside of me needed to do and set up a mini experiment. There are a couple of ways to measure metabolic rate (a.k.a. how many calories we burn a day). The more accurate way is to measure a person’s basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is measured in a dark room after 8 hours of sleep and 12 hours of fasting. Needless to say, we didn’t choose this option as it would have been a little awkward and cramped for us all to sleep in the conference room. My hair also works its way into a fauxhawk overnight and I really didn’t want my coworkers to see me like that. 

Instead, we had a company come in with equipment to measure our resting metabolic rates (RMR). RMR is way less cumbersome and only requires 4 hours of fasting (and no coffee!). The tech had each of us lie down in a reclining chair (one at a time, of course); she put a clothespin on our noses, and then has us breathe into a contraption for 15 minutes.

Afterwards, we all shared our results. With a few exceptions, the number of calories each of us burned a day at rest was as expected based on our sexes, weights, heights, and ages. Caloriesperhour.com provides a calculator that gave us our comparison RMRs. As a general rule, the taller, heavier, and younger a person, the more calories she burns at rest each day. Men burn more calories than women. #sonotfair

Based on RMR readings, it seems like our bodies try to compensate for extra weight by burning more calories. If a bigger person burns more calories, why are they bigger? And why do some people seem to be immune to weight gain?

The question of the week is: Do you think genetics play a role in weight? Click here to vote, or put your vote in the comments section below if you have rebelled against the facebook machine. Voting is open through Sunday, July 3^rd.