While I was surfing the 'net the other day, I followed a link to A Fat Rant. It's basically a monologue by a woman who's overweight and tired of feeling bad about it. While I applaud her sentiment that we should feel good about the skin we're in and cheer her refusal to go on a "diet," there was something she said that I didn't agree with:


There's been a lot of talk lately about the connection between genetics and good health. Heart disease, diabetes, and obesity have all been found to have a family connection. A recent study found that 20% of Caucasians carry a gene variation that puts them at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease and another study found that 50% of white Europeans carried a gene defect that put them at risk for obesity.I'm no scientist, so I'm not about to refute scientific evidence. But I think there's a danger in putting all of our eggs in the DNA basket. While it's true that we can't all be leggy models or have perfect six pack abs, having obesity or heart disease or anything else written in our genetic code should not become an excuse to give up altogether. Joy, from A Fat Rant, weights 224. She also exercises and claims to eat sensibly, and understands she may not ever see a size that isn't found in the plus department. But if you weigh 224 because your favorite food group is junk food and your sneakers never leave your shoe rack, then blaming your weight on your genes may be pointing your finger in the wrong direction.

That's why I loved this column by Dr. Dean Ornish. He actually is a scientist, and very eloquently writes about why genes are only a part of the story. My favorite quote is this one, from Dr. David Heber of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition:


Dr. Ornish says that what genes do actually do is dictate whether you need to make little changes or very large changes in your lifestyle to prevent developing problems, but whether it's an "ounce of prevention" or a "pound of cure," most people can control their risk factors to protect their health.