Regular physical activity is part of a healthy lifestyle. Exercise helps you burn excess calories, improves your metabolism, maintain a healthy body weight, improve heart health, and has several other physical and mental health benefits .
However, not everyone loses weight the same way and at the same rate. Some people tend to lose weight faster with exercise than others. In fact, a few people may even experience weight gain despite exercising regularly.
Apart from factors like your age, caloric intake, and health status, your genes may also influence whether you tend towards losing or gaining weight with exercise.
It is important to note that 'weight gain' is not always unhealthy. Sometimes, it can be due to an increase in muscle mass and not fat! An increase in muscle mass is beneficial to health.
Understanding your genetic makeup with respect to genes that affect your weight when you exercise can help you plan the right workout regime to achieve your weight-based goals.
Exercise has several benefits among which weight loss is one. So just because you are not losing a lot of weight is no reason to stop exercising.
Importance of Exercise in Maintaining a Healthy Weight
Improved Metabolism
Metabolism is the body's process of converting food into energy. When you exercise, your muscles use up a lot of calories. The calories from the food you eat are quickly burnt up instead of getting stored. Improved metabolism automatically stabilizes body weight.
A study calculated the metabolic rate of young male adults after 45 minutes of vigorous exercise. The study concluded that these men had an increased metabolic rate for up to 14 hours after exercising.
Increased Muscle Mass
If you have a lower BMI value and are looking to put on healthy weight, exercise can help. Resistance exercise increases the size of large muscles in the body (thighs, triceps, biceps, glutes). As the muscle mass increases, your weight improves. Muscle weight does not make you look overweight or obese.
Below are a few exercises that build muscles and help you look leaner yet stronger.
- Squats
- Planks
- Exercises with resistance band
- Pull-ups
- Chest presses
Lowered Risks of Certain Diseases
Exercising helps prevent problems like excessive weight gain and obesity. A healthy weight lowers the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and high blood pressure.
The Genetic Association
FTO gene
The FTO gene is one of the most discussed genes for obesity. It encodes Fat mass and obesity-associated protein. This protein is also known as alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase FTO.
Certain variants of the FTO gene influence weight loss and weight gain tendency upon exercising.
rs9939609 and Weight Loss/Gain
The A minor allele of the rs9939609 SNP of the FTO gene is related to an increased risk of obesity.
A meta-study compared the data from 54 different studies that analyzed the effects of exercising on obesity in people with the rs9939609 SNP.
The study concluded that people with the A minor allele have 1.23 fold/allele increased odds of being obese. Physical activity, however, brings down the risk by 27%.
ADBR2 Gene
The ADBR2 gene helps bind a neurotransmitter called epinephrine that helps relax muscles. This gene also plays a role in calcium channel interactions.
Variations in the ADBR2 gene may result in reduced lipolysis. Lipolysis is the action of using stored fat in the body for energy when you exercise. When lipolysis action is reduced, the risk of obesity increases.
People with certain genetic variants may have reduced lipolysis, and as a result, lose less fat with exercises.
Non-genetic Influences Of Exercise In Weight Loss And Weight Gain
Ethnicity
Our ability to exercise reduces as we age. Coupled with this, our metabolism also decreases as we age. Consequently, we tend to put on weight as we get older.
Age
Our ability to exercise reduces as we age. Coupled with this, our metabolism also decreases as we age. Consequently, we tend to put on weight as we get older.
Eating Habits
If you are habituated to eating high-calorie foods, packaged and processed foods, and excess saturated fats, you will not be able to lose weight by just exercising. Even with regular physical activity, when your caloric intake is very high, you may gain weight. Maintaining a healthy weight requires a disciplined approach to both diet and exercise.
Water Retention
If you are gaining weight during the first few weeks of exercising, it could be because of water retention in the body. As you start exercising, your muscle fibers experience micro-tearing and stress. This leads to water retention, which increases body weight. Another mechanism of water retention in the body is consuming either high salt or high sugar foods.
Salt retains water in the body and causes high blood pressure. Sugar gets converted into glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue for storage. Each glycogen molecule is tied to 3 water molecules! Hence, for every gram of glycogen in the body, you will carry three times as much weight in water. Junk foods are high in both salt and sugar, delivering a double whammy of excess weight.
Bad Pre and Post-workout Snacks
Pre and post-workout snacks are chosen to give your body the needed energy to handle intensive workouts. If you do not choose the right snacks, these can cause weight gain even after exercising.
What Happens When You Lose Too Much Weight After Exercising
Some people who follow an intense workout regime may see themselves losing weight rapidly. This is especially true if they combine exercise with a calorie-restricted diet.
If you are losing weight rapidly, then here are certain side-effects to look out for.
- Tiredness and fatigue
- Risks of nutritional deficiencies
- Muscle loss
- Inability to work out for longer stretches
- Muscle cramps
- Dehydration
Achieving Better Results With Exercising
Choose the Right Exercise
Depending on how much weight you want to lose, pick up the right physical activity. Those on an extreme weight loss journey may need to get help from professional trainers to plan their exercise regime.
Pair Exercise With the Right Diet
By choosing healthier and low-calorie meals, you can lose more weight. Protein-rich foods may be more beneficial than carbohydrates and fat-rich foods.
Exercise Regularly
It is difficult to lose weight if you are irregular with exercising. People who exercise once in a while and don't restrict their caloric intake may end up gaining weight.
Strength Training
Choose strength training exercises over other types if you are looking to gain muscle weight.
Know What Your Genes Mean
Knowing your genetic variations can help plan your exercise and diet regimen better. Genetic nutrition and fitness reports can help you understand which diets and exercises are more suitable for your genetics. You can then couple this with your own experiences and understanding of yourself and act accordingly.
Summary
- Exercise improves metabolism and burns calories, and, as a result, helps with maintaining optimal body weight.
- Some people can lose weight quickly with exercise, and others take time. Both genetic and non-genetic factors influence this.
- Non-genetic factors like age, gender, ethnicity, and eating habits can decide how effective exercise is for weight loss.
- Some individuals may consume more calories than they burn and gain weight despite being physically active.
- The FTO gene is the most discussed gene when it comes to obesity. The A minor allele of the rs9939609 SNP of this gene increases a person's chance of getting obese. Physical activity can reduce the risk by up to 27%.
- Variations in the ADBR2 gene can influence how the body uses stored fat for energy while exercising. Certain variations in this gene are less efficient in burning fat for energy during exercise, and hence lead to reduced weight loss with exercise. .
- Practicing the right exercise, staying calorie-conscious and understanding your genes all make a difference in how much weight we loss with exercise.
References
- https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/adult-overweight-obesity/factors-affecting-weight-health
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22115535/
- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/just-started-exercising-gaining-weight/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5844200/
- https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/exercise-lose-weight#1
- https://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/Abstract/2017/03000/Effects_of_aerobic_exercise_training_on_ACE_and.7.aspx
- https://selfdecode.com/blog/article/fto-obesity-diet-saturated-fat-118/
