overweight by genetics or overeating?

[girlsbig98]

Just wondered who amongst us is overweight genetically IE have been overweight since childhood and it runs in family etc or if you are overweight from overeating? IE you where fine and not overweight then a specific incident or time in your life or change in your life or health etc caused your weigh gain.

I have been overweight all my life, from being a baby until now. Went through school weighing 3 or 4st heavier than my school friends 9st etc when the other kids weighed 5st etc.

What about you?

 

[shineykat]

I don't believe in being "genetically overweight" I believe in unintentional overfeeding- if your mum and dad's portion sizes are big and they are big they are more likely to feed you more and then you put on weight.
My mum is skinny as a bean pole but she sent me to a very overweight minder all my primary school life and - surprise surprise- I gained weight!

 

[BordersGirl]

I was 'average' size until my late 20s (being between 8.5 and 9 stone when I was 21) when I started to put on weight. A change in lifestyle (commute by train, desk bound job and giving up all sports having been quite sporty previously) helped me to pile on the weight. Then a change in job made me pile on the weight even more as I was even less active than before. Now I do long hours sitting at a desk and eat crap because I can't be bothered to sort anything complicated out when I get home, and I put the same on my plate as my OHs. Once this diet is finished I need to sort out what I'm going to eat thereafter. Hoping that I can get into a more frugal, healthy routine during the week leaving the weekends for any indulgence. My mother is fairly slim and always has been so I don't think it's genetic. She can have a bar of chocolate and eat just a square or 2 in an evening whereas I would end up scoffing the whole lot. I don't know why she can and I can't.

I think that some families are more prone to putting on weight than others but not to the extent that weight can't be controlled by a more healthy diet. If I see overweight kids in the street they're usually accompanied by an overweight mother/father and quite often being plied with sweets and cakes. I was never overweight as a kid. I think that generally portion sizes were definitely smaller than they are now and we didn't live in the fast food culture back then. All meals were home cooked and if we went out for a meal it was to a restaurant and I don't think we ever had a takeaway other than an occasional meal of fish n chips.

 

[*soon-to-be-slim*]

i was always an active child and very slim, then after finishing school i got a job and a car... stopped all activity and gained lots of weight!!

overate most of my adult life!! now in this position... i have been 17st at some points but got it down by other diets...

 

[BordersGirl]

i was always an active child and very slim, then after finishing school i got a job and a car... stopped all activity and gained lots of weight!!

overate most of my adult life!! now in this position... i have been 17st at some points but got it down by other diets...

Mirrors my experience exactly! When I was a kid I rode every day, played hockey and ran for the school. Stopped everything more or less when I started work.