• Question: why are some people naturally skinny and why are some people naturally fat?

    Asked by to sakshisharda on 18 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Sakshi Sharda

      Sakshi Sharda answered on 18 Jun 2014:

      Hello lilygregory

      Well, some people are fat naturally. It could have to do something with their genes or maybe their parents are fat and they could have inherited that. Unfortunately there is very little we know about this and scientists are still racking their brains on this matter!!

      It could also mean that they would have evolved that way, for many populations this is the case. For example Indians, Chinese, Africans are born with more fat than muscle content when compared to European populations. This may seem a contradiction, as you know some of these are really undernourished then how can they get fat???

      Well, the answer to that is precisely why they have more fat! This means that since the time they are born, their greater amount of fat helps them to use it for energy when there is lesser food and also provide energy to fight off infections. And for this they have a big price to pay, that is, they have to compromise on the amount of muscle!!! After all nothing comes for free 🙂 So next time you happen to wrestle with someone from these countries you know who will win 😉

Comments

  • Photo: Naomi

    Naomi commented on :

    This is a great question lilygregory!

    There’s also more and more evidence that our gut bacteria (there’s over 100 trillion of them!) can affect our metabolism and affect weight – some people who are obese have certain bacteria in their gut that thin people don’t. Perhaps one day we could change our gut bacteria as a way to lose weight!

    Here’s an interesting BBC article on the subject if you want a read – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27116640