Ep. 665 - How Much Do Genetics Matter?

The goal of this podcast is to tackle the long debated and internal burning question we all have... Do genetics matter? And if so, how large of a role do they play in the results we see?

Well the truth is, yes they do. But how much they matter is where most people are actually pretty incorrect, because they matter FAR less than we often make it seem or allow ourselves to believe. In fact, it's mostly just an excuse to not work hard based on what the research actually shows.

However we're going to dive into genotypes, epigenetics, polygenetics, and what the research says about all of these things, in regards to strength and performance, hypertrophy, as well as fat loss and obesity.

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Shownotes:

SHOWNOTES:

• Genetics vs. Epigenetics

• • • GENETICS: Genetics is the study of how different qualities, called traits, are passed down from parents to child. Genetics helps explain what makes you unique, why family members look alike, and why some diseases run in families. When we trace the paths of these qualities, we are following packages of information called genes.
    • EPIGENETICS: Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence.

• Maybe it’s all in your head…?

• • • Learning One’s Genetic Risk Changes Physiology Independent of Actual Genetic Risk
    • 2 groups, told either they have good or bad genes for aerobic fitness… regardless of the accuracy of information told to the individuals, performance followed what they believed/were told.

• It DOES matter, for performance and strength, mostly.

• • • ACTN3 Genotype is Associated with Human Elite Athletic Performance
    • Specific gene seen in majority of elite sprinters vs. endurance athletes.

• However… that’s ONE out of 22 genes. Which still leaves 95% up to chance:

• • • Genetics of muscle strength and power: polygenic profile similarity limits skeletal muscle performance

• “Using typical genotype frequencies, the probability of any given individual possessing an "optimal" polygenic profile was calculated as 0.0003% for the world population.”

• Ok ok… what about with fat loss?

• • • FTO genetic variants, dietary intake and body mass index: insights from 177,330 individuals
    • This is the gene most associated with obesity risk that the scientific literature is currently aware of. But it’s independent effect is only about 0.3 BMI points, which corresponds to about 2.2lbs of scale weight. It’s tied to higher BMI and dietary protein intake.
    • FTO genotype and weight loss: systematic review and meta-analysis of 9563 individual participant data from eight randomised controlled trials

• “These findings show that individuals carrying the minor allele respond equally well to dietary, physical activity, or drug based weight loss interventions”

• This means that although it may set you up for a worse starting point, it won’t affect your weight loss journey or progress.

• Remember, this AGAIN, is a polygenetic situation - there are MANY genes that affect weight loss and obesity, this is merely one out of many (which means counteracting is possible).

• How about for muscle growth?

• • • Fitness and strength responses to distinct exercise modes in twins: Studies of Twin Responses to Understand Exercise as a THerapy (STRUETH) study

• “Our findings indicate that (i) individual responsiveness differs between exercise modalities; (ii) low-responders to one mode may be ‘rescued’ by switching to an alternate mode of exercise; and (iii) genes may not play as large a role, as previously estimated from cross-sectional data, for exercise training adaptation.”

• Genetic determinism of fiber type proportion in human skeletal muscle

• About 45% of muscle fiber dominance is determined by genetic makeup. Much of the rest is determined by childhood, which can be considered epigenetics in a way. However this leaves less IN our control to change… but this is just your starting point, NOT your progress to be made. In other words, genetics may play a role in the speed at which you succeed but not necessarily the definitive process of improving.

• Your mindset plays a role here, too… you can placebo yourself! (“Expectancy”)

• • • Mind over milkshakes: mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response
    • Two groups were drinking milkshakes, both which were 380 calories but the shakes had different labels on them. One read 620 calories and one read 140 calories. After drinking the shakes, the researchers monitored their ghrelin levels (hunger hormone, which often triggers more hunger) and satiety signals. The participants who drank the 620 calorie labeled shake had lower ghrelin levels and reported feeling full and satisfied. The group with the 140 calorie labeled shake had the opposite! Even though both shakes were in fact the exact same, nutritionally speaking.
    • Anabolic steroids: the physiological effects of placebos
    • Researchers took 15 lifters and had them train for seven weeks, telling them that the people who get the best results would be given free steroids. In 7 weeks, the lifters put a combined total of ~22 pounds on their bench, military press, seated press, and squat, on average. They then took 6 of the participants to join the “steroid” trial. They told them they were taking 10mg/day of Dianabol, but they were really just taking placebo pills. They trained for another 4 weeks and put a combined total of ~100 pounds on those same 4 lifts, meaning their rate of progress increased almost 8x just because they thought they were on steroids.

• Conclusion

• • In both cases, it takes consistency and patience. Which is why most studies on this suck… it just takes too long.
  • Genetics play a big role in responsiveness and starting points. So some may have a slight head start compared to others, but much of it is luck - if you just happen to find the style of training that matches your makeup early on and spend a lot of time doing it, you’re winning the lottery for your physique.
  • There’s no accurate way of testing this, so we’re wasting our time stressing about what we cannot control.
  • You can, somewhat, trick your mind into believing you have great genetics… so focus on your mindset most!
  • Find a training style you enjoy, stick with it diligently and be patient - if it works really well after 3-6 months, stick to it. If not, switch it up.
  • Genetics play a role in fat loss but it’s so minor that it’s really just an excuse at this point.

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