By Stephanie Hirschmiller
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A survey by UK discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has found that a third of overweight Britains believe their genes are to blame for those extra rolls of fat.
This belief is down to the results of a study conducted a couple of years ago in 2010
Published in medical journal Nature Genetics, it claimed a gene named FTO was responsible for human appetite.
The increased incidence of said gene was found to be linked to body weight and quickly dubbed the fat gene.Â
34% of overweight Brits surveyed blame the fat gene on their condition
It's always nice to be able to blame something beyond our control and by the looks the of things that's exactly what we are doing - with a chocolate coated cherry on the top.
MyVoucher Codes.co.uk surveyed over 1000 subscribers out of which, just over half, 52%, classed themselves as overweight.
A massive 34% of those respondents claimed that their size was down to the fat gene.
Obviously nothing to do with the dining discounts and two for one deals at restaurants they've been enjoying on the MyVoucherCodes website then!Â
Lack of finances was also cited as a factor with 14% stating that they "couldn’t afford healthy food" whilst a further 18% claimed that they "couldn’t afford a gym membership".
18% of overweight people surveyed claimed they couldn't afford gym membership
Over a tenth, 11%, of the ‘overweight’ respondents said that they believed they were overweight because they were simply ‘too lazy’ to exercise. Similarly, 21% of the respondents said that they were overweight because junk food was "more convenient" to eat when they felt hungry.
In a bid to investigate further, the respondents who blamed their extra weight on the ‘fat gene’ were asked why they felt this way, and were able to choose more than one response. The majority, 74% said it was because they had been overweight for "most of their lives" whilst just under two fifths, 39%, said it was because ‘"ne/both of their parents were overweight".
16% of the respondents who blamed the fat gene for being overweight said that they felt this way because they "eat healthily and exercise’ but still struggle to lose weight whilst, 28% said that they had tried to lose weight but ‘always failed".
The study found that just 8% of the respondents who claimed to be overweight felt ‘happy’ with their size.
Said Mark Pearson, Chairman of MyVoucherCodes, 'unfortunately, the UK is suffering from an obesity problem which is impacting on the health of many Britons. This study was interesting to conduct as it has given us a real insight into why people think they are overweight, and to see that so many considered themselves overweight in the first place was really quite a shock.
'It was sad to see that money has played a part in the unhealthy lifestyle that some people lead, but I can understand that gym memberships and healthy food can be pricy. However, there are plenty of free options out there to help you lose weight; like going for a run or even just a walk around a local park.'
In Britain, about one in five people are classed as clinically obese.
He is also keen to point out that MyVoucherCodes runs discounts for supermarkets and that most retailers have weekly offers to help consumers eat healthily on a budget: 'Being healthy needn’t be expensive!'
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"OVERWEIGHT Britons?" - That's the funniest tautology that I have ever heard. That's akin to saying "ENORMOUS GIANT!!" The reference to "overweight" is utterly superfluous!
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"OVERWEIGHT Britons?" So you're telling me that 2 or 3% of Britons were excluded from this survey??? XD XP XD.
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Easy targets = lazy journalism.
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I can believe there is a fat gene but there are plenty of other factors involved. At the end of the day i do however think it is ridiculous and highly uncharitable for a lot of people to claim that the sensations fat people get of being hungry are easily ignored and everyone else are paragons of self control and/or fitness fanatics. Sorry Billy but Pam has carried afew pounds in her time and she has a psychology qualification to boot.
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Love all the excuses - it's a follow on from 'you made me do it'. Healthy diets are a lot cheaper than processed stuff.
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I totally agree , i mean the poor things clearly lack the gene that lets them burn off the 6,000 calories a day that one or two of them probably throw down their throats....... - Mischa, West Yorks, 03/5/2012 22:01 ================ Thanks, Mischa for your witty comments, you made me laugh!
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As the great Billy Connelly put it, "Eat less, move more". I am not fat. My wife is not fat. My children are not fat. We walk the dog regularly, go for hikes in the country and walk to the local shops rather than drive. We cook most meals from scratch but occasionally we go for a pizza, burger etc. Fast food occasionally does no harm at all. It's when it becomes your staple diet that the problems start.... Most mobility scooters I see at the local shops are driven by huge obese people whilst the elderly and genuinely infirm choose to try to get about under their own steam. They're always moaning about it not being their fault between trips to Greggs and KFC. What I do object to is the horrifying images I'm subjected to in the supermarket when their monumental backsides moon out the top of gargantuan velour tracksuit bottoms as they attempt to bend down to reach the last 2 tubes of Pringles on the shelf
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I totally agree , i mean the poor things clearly lack the gene that lets them burn off the 6,000 calories a day that one or two of them probably throw down their throats.......
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DOUGHNUT thank you very much not Donut we aren't American
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If it's a fat gene that's responsible how come if you look at school photos from the sixties all the kids are thin.
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