Excercise counteracts the ‘fat gene’

Last year, the press went nuts when British Researchers at Oxford discovered a ‘fat gene’ that promoted obesity in some people. In an oddly defeatist way, this was great news for couch potatoes across the world who assumed that they had this faulty gene. For them, diet and exercise were now, thankfully, futile.

But in a recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers announced that they’ve found a cure for the fat gene. It’s called ‘exercise.’ After surveying 700 people in a Pennsylvania Amish community, they discovered that people with the gene who did moderate exercise for 3 to 4 hours a day showed no difference in weight gain from people without the gene.

Daunted by spending a fifth of your day working out? Consider that these people were doing moderate exercise. Given that a hard workout falls under the category of intense exercise, it’s relatively safe to say you can get away with doing somewhat less than 3 to 4 hours. Furthermore, the exercise can be cumulative. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Pull weeds from the garden for a couple minutes when you get home. Chase your kid around. These little things add up quickly.

But most important of all, stop staring at this computer and go Play!

Thanks to fitness coach, instructor and trainer Riana Hanle for this article.  Visit Riana’s webpage for health and fitness tips or for more information about setting up your 10 Day Fitness Challenge at :
www.teambeachbody.com/riana