The goal of this podcast is to tackle the long debated and internal burning question we all have... Do genetics matter? And if so, how large of a role do they play in the results we see?
Well the truth is, yes they do. But how much they matter is where most people are actually pretty incorrect, because they matter FAR less than we often make it seem or allow ourselves to believe. In fact, it's mostly just an excuse to not work hard based on what the research actually shows.
However we're going to dive into genotypes, epigenetics, polygenetics, and what the research says about all of these things, in regards to strength and performance, hypertrophy, as well as fat loss and obesity.
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Shownotes:
SHOWNOTES:
Genetics vs. Epigenetics

GENETICS: Genetics is the study of how different qualities, called traits, are passed down from parents to child. Genetics helps explain what makes you unique, why family members look alike, and why some diseases run in families. When we trace the paths of these qualities, we are following packages of information called genes.
EPIGENETICS: Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence.





Maybe it’s all in your head…?

Learning One’s Genetic Risk Changes Physiology Independent of Actual Genetic Risk
2 groups, told either they have good or bad genes for aerobic fitness… regardless of the accuracy of information told to the individuals, performance followed what they believed/were told.





It DOES matter, for performance and strength, mostly.

ACTN3 Genotype is Associated with Human Elite Athletic Performance
Specific gene seen in majority of elite sprinters vs. endurance athletes.





However… that’s ONE out of 22 genes. Which still leaves 95% up to chance:

Genetics of muscle strength and power: polygenic profile similarity limits skeletal muscle performance





“Using typical genotype frequencies, the probability of any given individual possessing an "optimal" polygenic profile was calculated as 0.0003% for the world population.”

Ok ok… what about with fat loss?

FTO genetic variants, dietary intake and body mass index: insights from 177,330 individuals
This is the gene most associated with obesity risk that the scientific literature is currently aware of. But it’s independent effect is only about 0.3 BMI points, which corresponds to about 2.2lbs of scale weight. It’s tied to higher BMI and dietary protein intake.
FTO genotype and weight loss: systematic review and meta-analysis of 9563 individual participant data from eight randomised controlled trials





“These findings show that individuals carrying the minor allele respond equally well to dietary, physical activity, or drug based weight loss interventions”

This means that although it may set you up for a worse starting point, it won’t affect your weight loss journey or progress.

Remember, this AGAIN, is a polygenetic situation - there are MANY genes that affect weight loss and obesity, this is merely one out of many (which means counteracting is possible).

How about for muscle growth?

Fitness and strength responses to distinct exercise modes in twins: Studies of Twin Responses to Understand Exercise as a THerapy (STRUETH) study





“Our findings indicate that (i) individual responsiveness differs betwee