Exercise may reduce genetic effects of obesity in older women
If you are obese and blaming your genes for it then you should start exercising as a new study suggests that working out can reduce the influence of genes on obese women over the age of 70. The study, published in the journal Menopause, revealed that genetic associations on body mass index (BMI) were strongest in sedentary postmenopausal women and weakest in women who reported high levels of recreational physical activity. "Our sample, which included older women, is the first to show that in the 70 to 79-year-old age group, exercise can mitigate the genetic effects of obesity ," said lead author Heather Ochs-Balcom, Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo's School of Public Health and Health Professions. "The message here is that your genetic risk for obesity is not wholly deterministic. The choices we make in our life play a large role in our health," Ochs-Balcom added. For the study, the researchers studied 8,206 women who participa...