Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

[StringJunky]

We've had a few threads recently on our microbiota. I thought this might be of interest from the BBC site.

 

 

Foods that make some of us put on weight can have little effect on others, according to research being carried out in Israel. It might be time to rethink the way we diet, writes Dr Saleyha Ashan.

 

Like most of the population, I must admit that I am on an eternal quest to lose weight. For me it's more to do with concerns about health than aesthetics. I have polycystic ovary syndrome and a family history of type 2 diabetes and that puts me into a high risk category for developing diabetes myself.

I have always watched what I eat - and yet I never seem to shift the weight, while friends seem to eat what they want without putting on a single bulge. It seemed like they could just "break all the rules". But perhaps that's just because we have been wrong about what "the rules" of diets are.

 

Last month, I travelled to Israel for Trust Me, I'm a Doctor to take part in a vast new research study being carried out there by a team at the Weizmann Institute of Science. They are in the process of monitoring 1,000 people in absolutely minute detail to see exactly how their bodies react to food - and their first results are rewriting the textbooks on our relationship with food. ........Read more

 

Here's a more sciencey article on it from Science Daily.

Edited January 26, 2016 by StringJunky

[CharonY]

There have been quite a few studies out there and there seems to be somewhat expected link between gut biota and food usage. However, one would still need to take other factors of the individual into account (genetic and developmental). There shifts in metabolism as we age that are under hormonal control, for example and there are marked differences between individuals at same age. As usual we are looking at many factors and many studies were not able to account for that. Having a larger sample size will help, obviously, although it would also depend on having relevant medical data for corrections.

[Willie71]

Often overlooked are mental health conditions. ADHD is highly correlated with obesity, and more recent research shows that people with atypical depression are more prone to obesity, even if diet is controlled for. People with seasonal affective disorder are also highly likely to gain weight, but when young, often lose quickly in the spring. Less so as they age.

[Xalatan]

People differ in the amounts of daily exercise and basal metabolism too. Unless experimental subjects are matched in terms of age, gender, race, BMI, etc, and keep strict diaries about caloric inputs and outputs, it is difficult to compare what is really going on.

Also good point about mental health conditions - in particular drugs like antipsychotics can affect appetite and lead to weight changes.

[Sirona]

I'd lay off the chocolate and ice-cream if I were her and stick with Metformin to help control her PCOS, especially since it's likely that she could be insulin resistant given her family history of type 2 diabetes and PCOS.