female only Are others in your family overweight/obese?

[thatDEgirl 1]

My maternal grandmother was very large and my Mom can be heavier but also loses quite fast. My sperm donor is big boned and heavy, I am an exact replica of him. I also have medical issues that have helped pack on the pounds.

[DivaStyleCoach 89]

This is an interesting thread...had to revive it!

My dad was heavy - typical apple shape with all his weight in his upper body and abdomen. He left us - stroke at age 65.

My mom was heavy - another apple shape, though part of her ab issues were because she had fibroid tumors and had to have a hysterectomy. She was never able to flatten her abs after that, no matter how many situps she did.

My older brother is heavy - apple shaped as well. My sister was the same way - and heart ailments took her from us.

My other brother was headed toward the apple shape - he died at age 36 because of medication-induced heart trouble.

And then there's me - tall like my dad, built like my paternal grandmother (broad shoulders, tall, heavy bustline, apple-shaped weight distribution). My DH's family is similar, but the women run more pear-shaped. The guys are all tall and thin - DH is heavier because he powerlifts, but he's starting to get a tummy. His dad had one too, but not a big one.

My DD is definately apple-shaped. Most of her weight is above the thigh, though her legs are getting bigger too. I am worried about her - she outweighed me earlier in the summer, but the extra activity of school has trimmed her down somewhat.

I warned my son and DIL (Daughter in Law) about the health issues in our family before they had children. DIL is short and heavy - apple shaped - and I worry about my grandchild. DS (Darling Son) is tall, thin and muscular - much as I was before I turned 10, but he's held onto it really well. He's a natural athlete and hyperactive to boot, so he's constantly moving and that keeps the weight off. He may have a challenge when he slows down, but I pray that does not happen. Genetics MAY be in his favor - his natural father was pretty lean, as are most of the men in that family and even the women don't get very big.

My family history is against me, but I'm not going to just give in...I'll be fighting 'till the day I die!

[lotzasunshine 2]

This is an interesting thread. All of my Dad's siblings are obese. One of his brothers has had gastric Bypass and another is considering that or the band. My dad is still overweight, but not as much as he used to be. my mom is overweight for her frame(she was a ballet dancer when she was young and should only weigh around 110). My Brother and both my sisters are also overweight, though my sisters are still under 200 and fighting it hard. I am hoping that all these changes I am making will help my future children to lead a healthier lifestyle.

[heartfire 4]

Dad's side of the family was all big. A few beanpoles but they were the minority. Mom's side, the women struggle while the men don't.

Of my family of 4 (mom, dad, me and little sis) I was always the smallest and actually weighed normal but thought I was just the smallest fat one! Talk about warped sense of self!! I graduated HS weighing in about 120 or so. Got married a year and half later and started gaining. Don't know that it's genetics so much as wrong choices, being hungry all the time and eating WAY too much. Hormone issues didn't help and I put a lot of weight on due to that as well.

DD was adopted and we know nothing about her birthfather but her birthmother gave us a detailed medical/family history and she should be okay, on the birthmother's side anyway. She's really active and loves to "do" things so I'm encouraging all of that, even at 2!!

[bindi2203 0]

i am seriously the only real fatty boom stix im my family on both sides, one aunt was overweight in her 40s but lost it, she is in her 60s now and still keeping it off. i cant blame any thing other than my obsessive food addiction, why do things dripping in fat and sugar have to taste so damn good. so so glad i got this band, because now the fear of getting something stuck, far out weighs the few seconds of pleasure i would get from woofing it down. good luck to all.

[aubrie 6]

My mom is a tiny little thing. But she walks, exercises daily, and eats a healthy well balanced diet. Always has. My Dad has SKINNY arms and legs but a big bubble belly. My brothers and my sister are big. I wasn't big at all until I turned 31. I gained 60 pounds in one year. (undiagnosed thyroid) BUT my maternal grandmother was huge. I am a carbon copy of her. She ate like a bird and was always big. I think she had an undiagnosed thyroid problem as well, but back then who cared. Several of my cousins are big too. It "could" have been genetic in my case, but since I didn't blow up until age 31 I tend to think not.

[*slim* 2]

I have always wondered if it can be genetic. Don't get me wrong, I know that I had to eat the McDonald's for me to wear it on my butt and belly, but I know a lot of skinny people that eat more than I ever have (my husband for example) and they never gain weight. On my dad's side of the family, only the women are severely overweight. On my mom's side of the family, everyone is overweight. My mom had 11 brothers and sisters. Of those still living, there isn't a single one that doesn't have type 2 diabeties, high blood pressure, etc. Now my generation is worse, I have had 2 cousins in their early 40s die of weight related deseases. That was a wake up call for me.

[Chrisann 0]

Oddly enough, my parents were thin through their childhoods, and into their 30's. 3 of the 4 grandparents were average sized, weight wise, but tall. My grandma on Dad's side was short, no taller than 5'3" and was pear shaped. Dad said I am built like her, but taller. My siblings are all sized 12 or larger, the reason I want to be a size 10!!!!

[green 6]

We Greens are a mix of fatties and skinnies. My kid brother and I were the blonde chunky ones (we took after an aunt) who had to watch ourselves while the middle brother took after both of my parents, brunette and naturally slender. In my 20s I lost the beef and did not gain weight again until menopause. My mum went into menopause at the age of 39 and I was 41. She and I gained weight in exactly the same way even though I have never had a kid and she had had three; our arms and legs, hands and feet remained slim but our torsos bloated up hugely. She used to joke that she looked like a pregnant spider. Before I got the band, I did, too. This was definitely an apple-type weight gain pattern. Long after I went into menopause people used to ask me if I was pregnant.

I definitely do believe that genetics can play a role in one's weight issues. Some folks get more miles to the gallon and there once was a time (in prehistory) when this was an excellent survival mechanism.

Along with genetics there are those issues of Portion Control, level of physical activity, and the type of foods that we are eating. All of these factors play their parts in this problem of weight control.

[TQUAD64 9]

Interesting question. My dad and his clan are slender. My mom and her clan range in various weights. My mom is very obese and is in the process of having gastric by-pass. My siblings, sister and brother are very trim. I was always trim until I started having kids in my twenties.

I believe there are genes that cause health issues, but I also know that my environment/me is responsible for my health issues as well. :thumbup:

[odamay 4]

Yup, all the girls in my family are big. Why couldnt I take after my Dad. ha ha ha.

[Bratty_Nicole 0]

I have my Mom's genes...Everyone on that side of the family is severly obese...My Sister on the other hand is skinnier and has my Dad's genes...We all ate the same and had severly different results with weight.

They also say that if a child is adopted, they can eat the same exact way as the adoptive parents, but their metabolism and weight is the EXACT same as their birth parents.

I believe in the "fat gene" because it has been medically proven. That is also why we don't fail diets, diets fail us...

[Carrie_C 9]

I believe in the fat gene too.

[Sunwyse 1]

My grandmother was larger, but I've never known her to be fat. My mother is a solid woman, the proverbial brick out house! One sister is, my cousin is. Father's side I have no idea, never met them. My other sister tends to take after her father's side, but she's noticed a little fat creeping on after having her baby.

[joeyramonesgirl 0]

I was overweight since I was little. My mom has overweight sibs on her side and they are all apple shape, except my mom who's pear shape. My dad's family varies. I have some really skinny cousins, but all of my aunts are a little pudgy.

I think the fat gene has an awful lot to do with my weight, but I helped it along as well. I just think that as much as there is a gene, there is a pattern of eating gene; my mom and I love sweets and my dad and I love carbs (yeah, the worst of both worlds). :crying: How your parents eat is how you eat.

Edited October 5, 2008 by joeyramonesgirl
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