How Your Genes May Affect Your Fitness and Health Goals

Introduction to health and fitness

Discussing health and fitness, have you noticed someone with perfect abs lifting twice the weight you are or running a sub-six-minute mile? You feel inspired and curious about how they did it, so you go ahead and ask them for advice only to realize they are less experienced than you!

How is it possible that some people achieve their health and fitness goals faster than others? 

There are many factors when it comes to fitness such as diet and lifestyle habits as well as intensity and frequency. But even if you are to have the same diet and routine as a genetically gifted person you will not be able to catch up to their fitness levels. Yes, that is how much genetics can impact your fitness goals. 

When it comes to athletic and physical performance, genetics can be attributed to about 50-60% of the difference between your skills and someone else’s. The other 40-50% comes down to environmental factors like training, diet, and lifestyle habits (i.e. sleep). 

Fortunately, most people are genetically competent in certain areas of fitness rather than others. For example, track runners and sprinters have the genetic predisposition to have superior trainability and value of VO2max, an individual’s maximal oxygen consumption and a key indicator of running potential. Some bodybuilders have better muscle insertions in their chest rather than their legs while others have strong calves without having to train them etc. 

The examples are unlimited, but they all point to the same fact: Understanding your genetic composition is essential to unlocking your maximum health and fitness potential. 

Fortunately, it is much easier to understand your genetics in the modern world. Through the advancements of genomics, you can now take an affordable DNA test that can give you a large amount of information about how your body and mind function, including the impacts of diet and exercise. 

 Taking a DNA test can help you identify what your superior genes are and that, in turn, would help you focus on your fitness goals and health targets with the perfect amount of dedication to each goal to help you progress the fastest way possible. 

Taking a DNA test is half the work, understanding what it means and what you can do about it is the other half.  Sure, you probably know what you’re genetically gifted at and where you struggle. But do you know what you should do to maximize the good and overcome the bad? Read on to learn which genes may be influencing your “problem” with particular diet and exercise objectives, as well as what you can do about it.

Problem 1: I am constantly hungry

Gene: FTO – Hunger and Appetite

While an FTO gene variant is common in obese men and women, the genes aren’t causing you to gain weight—but they are making you hungry. You are practically physiologically built to have increased food desires and feel hungry sooner if you possess a certain variant. Ghrelin, your hunger hormone, is to blame. 

Some people can eat in the morning and not feel hungry until lunch or the evening. They don’t worry about food, which is OK as long as they’re eating balanced meals and macronutrients for their body’s needs and training demands. On the other hand, other people have an insatiable hunger and can eat all day long. This is due to the FTO gene causing deregulation in peoples eating patterns. To fix this, people with specific FTO gene variations need diet plans that can help with hunger regulation. 

Problem 2: I can’t keep my weight off

Gene: ADRB2_2 – Adrenaline signaling gene 

Men with a certain genetic variation of ADRB2_2 are more apt to have a heavier weight, BMI, and fat. If you have it, you’re more inclined to struggle with obesity and have trouble with weight loss plans.

Problem 3: I am sensitive to carbs and fats

Gene: PPARG – Fat and carb processing  

This protein is a receptor that dictates how you store fat and how you break down glucose, which can determine your risk for obesity and diabetes, as well as your response to saturated fats and power-based activities, indicating how easy it is for your body to drop fat and respond favourably to exercise.

Gene: ACVR1B – Muscle Strength 

 If you fall into the majority and are unable to build massive muscles quickly, your first line of defence should be nutrient timing, which is consuming the proper foods both before and after workouts to maximise your performance. Even if your metabolism is quick, if you aren’t scheduling your calorie intake to coincide with your workout, you are squandering time and energy. To benefit your muscles the most, try to eat between 30 to 60 minutes after your workout and 20 minutes following.

Problem: Can’t run faster

Gene – ACTN3

A higher baseline of strength, a defence against muscle injury, and an increase in fast-twitch muscle fibres are produced by certain versions of the speed gene ACTN3. (Fun fact: Nearly all Olympic sprinters examined have had the same variant of ACTN3 in their bodies.) If you lack the “sprinter” form of the gene and have extra copies of the “endurance” version, your body won’t be able to signal your fast-twitch fibres quickly and forcefully, which is essential for speed and power sports.

Taking a DNA test that includes multiple traits that are linked to weight management, fitness regulation and illnesses related to obesity as well as genes that can enhance your fitness journey, will help you understand your body to better make it match your fitness goals. Fortunately, with the advancement of genomics, there are multiple DNA tests to take. MyPreciseDNA, for example, is a DNA test kit that can be done from home and includes 129 traits and 15 categories. The categories include traits such as obesity, diabetes, fat sensitivity muscle strength and endurance and even tell you how effective a low-fat diet might be. Taking a DNA test will help you discover the most suitable diet and workout routine to live a healthy, fit, lifestyle.

Learn more about how our DNA test can help you. It’s considered the most advanced DNA test in Malaysia that we can provide, so we’d like to offer you our premium DNA test. You can take advantage of this offer and reap the benefits of getting a DNA test.