Name: Is There A Couch Potato Gene?
Uploaded: 2020-08-09T21:01:30.000Z
Duration: 2 min 17 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Are you a lazy slob who hates to work and sits around all day?

Adverbs of degree

I mean, really, is this episode over yet?

Hey, everyone, Laci Green here for DNews.

Some have called the onset of the 21st century "the couch potatofication of America"!

There's so much to do and see in the world, and you could do it all from the comfort of your own sofa, or office chair, or wherever you happen to be sitting.

Now, a new study is saying, "Hey, the fact that you sit on your butt so much may not be just because of lifestyle changes of the modern world, it might actually be because of your genes."

This is some of the first hard evidence that some people may, in fact, be predisposed to laziness.

It's the excuse to sit around that we've all been hoping and waiting for.

[The] study was recently published in the American Journal of Physiology.

Scientists at the University of Missouri basically monitored a bunch of rats and then sorted them into two groups based on how much physical activity the rats did on their own.

One group was the "super runners" and the other was the "couch potatoes".

Then each group was isolated so they could only breed with their own kind.

They bred the rats for 10 generations, and what did they find?

The offspring of the super runners were willfully running an average of 10 times longer every day than the couch potato group.

To be sure it was actually genetic, they looked at things like mitochondrial content in the muscle cells, gotta check in on how the powerhouses are running.

They also looked at that rats' body composition.

In the end, they pinned 36 genes that may influence couch potato behavior, narrowed down from 17,000.

Now they gotta figure out which genes exactly and, of course, if this applies to humans, which sounds like a lot of work, if you ask me.

The study draws up that age-old question, right?

Am I lazy because I'm hardwired for it, or am I lazy because that's the lifestyle I was brought up with?

Because I lack discipline or because I just really don't care?

As we discover that a lot of these traits may, in fact, start in our genes, how much of said laziness is related to factors that are in my control?

I ask because I feel like, in my heart of hearts, I am just so unbelievably lazy.

I hate every minute of it, but I still do it.

So, peeps, are you a couch potato or a super-runner?

Tell me about it down below and I'll catch you next time with more DNews. Bye-bye!