Is obesity genetic? | Peter Attia, M.D. & Stephan Guyenet, Ph.D.

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The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 45 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.

Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life).

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[denisselopez]

I think there is a genetic predisposition but a large part is also eating habits that are passed on to children. I have struggled with obesity my whole life and I have made it a point to teach my children different eating habits. My kids don't have juice, I cook real food and avoid giving them processed, frozen, canned foods (stuff with a ton of preservatives). Yes they have treats but it's not a large part of their diet. Already I see a difference because they are not overweight kids, and they are on track weight wise at their physicals. As a kid my weight was always an issue at appointments. Nutritional education is so important, specifically correct nutritional information.

[btudrus]

How do you distinguish between genetics and cooking and eating habits which are passed in the family from generation to the next generation?

What I see very frequently are cases of people living in the same household being similarly obese even if there is no genetic link (spouses...).
So I have my doubts about these studies.

[monztermovies]

Eating, snacking, munching, and constant foraging behavior passed from parent to child plays a large part. IMO. 😜

[alextemus]

I find it odd to focus on there being a genetic predisposition to obesity, when one of the first things Peter says is that only the past 40 or 50 years has allowed that obesity to become evident...
How is the thesis of this research not on the fact that despite thousands or millions of years with a lack of obesity, in the past 40-50 years we have changed our diet so drastrically that "the lifetime instances of obesdity is roughtly 50%"???

I mean, the framing of this issue as inevitable, or obesity being compatible with our genomic markers as Peter said, gives the impression that it's all fine and dandy and is the glaring issue with this podcast episode. They're acting like the most recent 50 years should be seen as the rule, and the previous millenia should be seen as the exception...

[alexlorenz]

this was an incredibly interesting and helpful video - thank you! heading to watch the full conversation now

[fotoviano]

1) as I understand it, non-hypothesis driven is just data mining in the sense that was meant when it was a pejorative term. At any given confidence level, you will just get that (or the complement's) % of apparent correlations when there is no correlation. Cases where you have some hypothetical cause or mechanism are presumably more reliable. ML functions (or tries to) in a hypothesis-less manner, but usually it is used where the cost of being wrong isn't particularly worse than the gain from being right, so some percentage of false positives is tolerable (still profitable).
2) if these combos of genes are just a strategy for storing some energy in scarce (non-obesogenic conditions), then maybe there are other strategies, and as long as you have any of those, no reason for one particular combo/strategy to be preferred, and so maybe 50% get one, other folks get others
3) seems like epigenetics could play a big role here, especially as you can see that abundance (or absence of non-obesogenic conditions) could exist in the prior generation and trigger down-stream activation of genes. My understanding is that SNPs are restricted to the genome (although I guess essentially the same thing can be examined in other parts of the chromosomes), so wouldn't these sorts of things get missed.

[johntravis]

100s of genes 'add up' to affect obesity? you sure each and every single one of these genes actually makes a difference or is it just within a margin of chance/error?

I was 500 pounds, now down to 400.
My brother has never gone over 220 or so.
My mom passed away diabetes at 45+ BMI, my dad's BMI is similar.
My brother didn't get lucky, he just didn't use food like a friend/band-aid/shoulder to cry on like I did.
Nurture over nature until the science gives stronger correlations than "75% inherited over 100s of genes"

[billyhw]

Peter, can you please interview Dr. Carel le Roux, pretty, pretty please?

[Sobchak]

How likely is that identical twins will have similar lifestyle habits, at least in part?
Or even more importantly, that they have very similar gut microbiota?
I admit I haven't read the papers mentioned in this study, but if someone had looked into that, it would be nice their opinion.

[KyBrancaccio]

Nice work as always. I realize this video is specifically about genes. other considerations include: This subject is incomplete without serious mention of the Epigenome and it's potential for enormous change in only one generation. And, of course the serious differences in the foods that have changed (ingredients for example). Finally, diabetes will never disappear because such a "Feature" allows such people to survive famine better than others; i.e. the survivor of famine and natural disaster carried the traits that you mention.

[weichqw]

Are these balanced for caloric intake? Or any intake measurements? Because it could be that simply that between habits and gene's + maybe some other things, that would explain the difference. In that some people naturally feel more hungry than other given the same calorie/fat intake. When they are left unrestricted they will eat more calories/more carbs etc which then leads to obesity. Further, people who are better at breaking down certain foods may be better/worse at generating fat

[drosselbach]

It all sounds so weird. From my non-scientific point of view if you are capable to change something with your deliberate effort (and you can change obesity with it), those genetic arguments appear to be just a comfortable excuse to do nothing. And the more this “genetic factor” is on the agenda, the stronger excuse for doing nothing people have.