SAN ANTONIO — Losing weight is a struggle for almost everybody. The secret to keeping it off may not be your willpower, but your DNA.
In high school biology we learned that DNA could determine your eye color, the shape of your nose and even your likelihood to catch certain illnesses.
But we now know that your genes can also determine the size of your jeans.
"I wouldn't say let herself go, but you can tell what extra weight does to a frame, to somebody's body, and how it affects everything that they do," said Brenda Littleton.
She's speaking about her mother. Watching her health decline made Littleton want to work towards losing weight herself.
"I was like, 'I just, I can't be that. I can't do that for myself,'" Littleton said. "So I just started taking measures and, really just try to change what I know."
But it's a task easier said than done for most. And when Littleton found herself having a hard time dropping the pounds, her doctor provided a key bit of wisdom.
"It's all genetic," she says. "It's all hereditary. No matter what you do, that's not going to change."
xxxxx
That doesn't mean there aren't different methods of weight loss you can undertake. Ashwin Chary, the owner and director of operations for Any Lab Test Now in San Antonio, says tests can analyze your genetic makeup—and provide a road map to losing weight.
"This is performed as a DNA test," Chary says, "and based on that, it's going to give you recommendations based on your genotypes to see what weight loss program would be good for you."
The DNA results are gathered from a simple cheek swab. Once they're in, they're sent to an individual's email.
Participants get a report including information about optimal foods to meet caloric needs; nutritional supplements tailored to individual requirements; and customized exercise plans to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
"Once this result is given back to our customer, they can even take it to their doctor or their personal trainer nutritionist and get it even more personalized to their dietary requirements," Chary said.
Dr. Andres Acosta, an assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, divided obesity into four categories based on genetic factors related to obesity.
They are the hungry brain, where people never feel full; the hungry gut, which is when people get full but eat again shortly after; emotional eaters, who cope with problems using food; and slow burn, where someone's metabolism makes it difficult for them to burn calories quickly.
But with your DNA, all of those problems could disappear.
"It will tell them, 'You have an easy time losing weight (or) you have a hard time losing weight,'" Chary said. "And they'll get the answers."
Littleton said DNA testing would have helped her immensely.
"I would like to know what the triggers are," she said. "And if I could focus on that and I could focus on making those adjustments, I think that would be huge."
To learn more about DNA testing for weight loss, check out AnyLabTestNow.