"I can't help it, it's my genes" is a familiar phrase among frustrated dieters and gym goers who feel they can’t make the scale budge despite all efforts to reduce calories and exercise more. There may be something to their justification. After all, weight can depend partly on genetic makeup (among several other factors).
Luckily, the genetic revolution continues to churn out exciting news giving us hope that, no, we're not completely left at the mercy of the wrong kind of genes. The latest example is a study presented March 14 at the American Heart Association meeting in San Diego. The study found that people could keep their obesity genes under wraps by doing as little as turning off the tube and taking a brisk walk.