A newly revealed European study indicates that teenagers should engage in at least an hour’s worth of exercise daily in order to stay safe from the common obesity gene, which has been nicknamed ‘fatso’.
The lead author of the study, Jonatan Ruiz, part of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said that the results of the study was initiative enough for teenagers to start exercising more often and be active. Ruiz said extra exercise on top of sports was not necessary and recommended that all teenagers take part in at least one active sport.
Featured in April’s edition of Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the study is in line with US guidelines which also recommend that teenagers, as well as children get at minimum one hour of exercise, be it swimming, cycling, dancing, etc.
Researchers also point out that obesity is caused not only by genes, but also by lifestyle choices, and are now reiterating the importance of exercise and healthy eating.
The FTO gene, which is linked to obesity, according to research racks up pounds when in variant form. Statistics indicate that one in six people who carry two copies of the gene variant weigh at average around seven pounds more than people who do not carry it.
Approximately 750 teenagers from Spain, Austria, Sweden, Italy, Hungary, France, Belgium, Germany and Greece were subjected to this study in which blood tests were carried out to determine their gene variant. The teenagers also had to wear monitoring devices for a period of seven days, which gauged the amount of physical activity they underwent.