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Our optimal weight, or, as scientists called it set-point, as well as height, is genetically predetermined, and the body supports it for most of its life. Experts explain why for some it is 50, and for others – 70 kilograms.
RECEIVED IN HERITAGE
Of course, we are not talking about an exact figure, but about a given range of several kg, within which the body strives to remain. Tracy Mann, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota (USA) and author of the book “Secrets of the Nutrition Lab”, has been working on digestion problems for more than 20 years and is confident that the role of genes in regulating body weight has been proven.
For example, scientists compared the weight of 500 adopted children with the weight of their biological and adoptive parents. It turned out that if the environment and eating habits acquired from adoptive parents influenced the weight of children, then the weight of these children would be similar to that of the members of the adoptive family, but everything turned out to be the opposite – their body weight correlated with the weight of biological relatives. The same happened in the case of the twins who were brought up in different families and did not even know each other. Their weight was almost the same. “Whatever you do,” says Tracy Mann, “in the end, you will still end up in your genetically defined body weight range.”
HUNGER AS A ENGINE OF EVOLUTION
It turns out that body weight is actively regulated by the body, just like body temperature or blood pressure, and the hypothalamus is responsible for this. “This system works like a thermostat,” says neuroscientist Sandra Aamont. When weight changes, different tools are turned on: hunger signals, changes in activity, metabolism, hormonal levels. Everything in order to maintain normal weight in the understanding of the system. For example, when we go on a diet and start losing weight, we feel hungry and our muscles burn less energy. Dr. Rudy Leibel from Columbia University found that in the body of a person who has reduced weight by 10%, due to inhibition of metabolism, 250-400 kcal is burned less. This means that in order to lose weight further, he will have to eat 250-400 kcal less than a person of the same weight category, but who has always been in this weight. From the point of view of evolution, all this makes a lot of sense: in times of famine, our ancestors survived precisely due to the fact that the body used energy sparingly, and gained weight when food appeared. This protected them in case of possible hunger. ” Aamont believes that if, after losing weight, you will maintain the result for 7 years, the brain will still not give up trying to return you to your previous shape. What if you decide to get better?
STEP FORWARD – TWO BACK
To find out, scientists conducted a series of experiments on overfeeding people: for this purpose they specially selected prisoners who are limited in physical activity. To increase the weight of the subjects by 20%, they had to consume more than 10000 kcal per day for six months, while the daily norm for men in the United States is 2500 kcal. But even this did not help much and the weight gain turned out to be much less than the calculated one. The most surprising thing was that in order to maintain the achieved result, it was necessary to increase the daily calorie volume to 2700. Similar experiments were carried out several times. On this basis, Tracy Mann concluded that “it is difficult to go beyond the range of body weight determined by our genes.”
However, you can still increase the setpoint value. Researchers believe that weight gain, which is becoming the new norm, is driven by a series of rigid diets in 40% of those who lose weight.
We were counted
Set-point theorists have divided all people into three categories.
“Naturally fat” – those with a high set-point for genetic reasons. These people eat no more than everyone else, but they weigh more. This is a peculiarity of metabolism: it is worth losing the first kilograms, adipose tissues decrease the production of leptin, on which the feeling of satiety depends, and the appetite increases. “
“Unstable” – they are distinguished by significant fluctuations in weight at different stages of life. Stress, fatigue, melancholy, depression lead to weight gain. People of this type tend to “seize” negative emotions with sugary foods, which have a very real sedative effect.
“Chronically dissatisfied” – their natural weight is within the normal range, but they still want to lose weight. “A woman whose set-point is 60 kg is forced to starve herself to bring it down to 55. This can be compared to how if the body had to constantly fight to lower its temperature from 37 to 36,5 degrees.” , Says Dalle Grave.
WHAT IS YOUR NATURAL WEIGHT?
There is no single answer to this question. Someone calculates it by the mass index (its formula is weight / (height)2). Someone takes into account the constitutional features. For example, according to Metropolitan Life Insuranse, with a height of 166 cm for a woman with asthenic physique, the ideal weight is 50,8–54,6 kg, for a normosthenic person, 53,3–59,8 kg, and for a hypersthenic person, 57,3–65,1 kg. But most researchers believe that setpoint is the range of body weight that you are in when you are not addicted to diets and do not overeat. If there is a number of kilograms that you return to over and over again after dramatic changes in both directions, it is most likely the middle of your range. It is believed that the body begins to fight when this indicator decreases or increases by 4-7 kg (of course, it all depends on the person: if you weigh 45 kg, then, having lost 7 kg, you will definitely violate the lower limit of the permissible range of body weight) … That is, it turns out that the boundaries of your natural weight vary between 8-14 kg.