Can We Lose Weight by Walking? According to These Researchers, the Answer Lies in Our Genetics

There are many reasons to start walking and get closer to that symbolic 10,000 steps a day. For many people, keeping their weight under control is one of the main motivations.

Genetics plays an essential role in this regard, as some people are more predisposed to accumulating body mass. Scientists have only been trying to determine which genetic variants are associated with our susceptibility to gain weight for a few decades.

However, being familiar with these genetic variants has allowed us to develop strategies to get closer to maintaining or losing weight, thus minimizing the effort required to achieve those objectives.

Everyone is different, and not all bodies respond the same way to particular diets or exercise regimens. To think otherwise is to set yourself up for failure because a “miracle” strategy for one person may be a dead end for another.

Earlier this year, a team of researchers published a study compiling the different genetic variants identified to date and associated with the capacity to lose weight through diet and exercise. They found 30 genetic markers related to our body’s response to dieting and 24 associated with exercise.

Genetics isn’t an isolated factor, so it’s not our genes per se that make us fat. They’re part of a complex system that interacts with our diet and other lifestyle choices.

To understand these interactions, a team from the American Heart Association examined how walking could reduce the effects of genetics and a sedentary lifestyle on our body mass index. The analysis, published in 2012, found that walking could counteract our genetic predisposition to gain weight, as opposed to sedentary habits like watching TV, which have the opposite effect.

To conduct the study, the researchers compiled data on more than 12,000 participants, including information on genetic variants (32) associated with high body mass index. They estimated that walking at least one hour a day could reduce people’s body mass by about 0.06 kg/m² (0.19 oz/ft²).

More Steps

Another team of researchers recently took the question a step further. The analysis published this year in the journal JAMA Network questioned whether people with certain genetic predispositions linked to obesity needed a certain amount of exercise to avoid reaching the body mass index threshold for obesity.

The study involved 3,124 adults and found that people with this genetic predisposition did indeed need to walk more, in terms of steps taken per day, than people with a lower risk associated with their genes. According to the data obtained, people in the high-risk percentile needed to walk 2,280 steps more than people in the middle percentile, for a total of 11,020 steps per day, if they wanted to counter their risk of obesity.

Although controlling our diet is generally a better way to lose weight, exercise can help us. For example, it’s perfect to avoid regaining lost weight.

Most importantly, exercise is a way to stay healthy. Being active has many positive effects on our lives, especially cardiovascular health.

Image | Lukas Hartmann

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