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  • Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute

  • English. I'm Neil and joining me for this

  • is Dan.

  • Dan: Hello.

  • Neil: And can I say Dan, you're looking

  • very slim - it looks like your

  • diet is working!

  • Dan: This is my normal figure - and I have

  • not been on a diet. But it looks like you've

  • actually put on a bit of weight.

  • Neil: Well I may have a little paunch -

  • or a fat stomach - but didn't

  • you know that it's

  • out of my control? Some of this

  • has to do with my genes - not the

  • ones I wear - but

  • the cells in my body that control

  • my development. That's what we'll be

  • discussing in this programme.

  • Dan: However our audience might

  • describe themselves - tubby and

  • overweight or thin and skinny,

  • which means very thin - they're

  • more than welcome to join us

  • on this voyage of discovery.

  • So let's start with answering a question.

  • Neil: What's the name of the popular

  • diet that involves avoiding

  • eating carbohydrates and in

  • which you can eat as much fat

  • and protein as you like? Is it...

  • a) the Mediterranean diet,

  • b) the Atkins diet, or c) the Graham diet?

  • Dan: I've heard of the Atkins diet,

  • so I'll say b).

  • Neil: Well, you'll have to wait a bit to find

  • out. But Dan, you may have also heard of

  • a crash diet - that's where

  • someone makes a rapid change

  • to the types of food they eat

  • with the aim of losing weight quickly.

  • Dan: Yes, I know that eating this way

  • can be risky for your health

  • and they don't always work.

  • Neil: That's true and now scientists

  • have some evidence that shows

  • that our weight is not just

  • controlled by what we eat. So it might be

  • quite natural for someone to be thin

  • or fat - it's all to do with their genes.

  • Research published in

  • the journal PLOS Genetics,

  • explains how twin studies

  • have shown that about 40% of the

  • variation in a person's weight

  • is affected by their genes.

  • And also, why thin, but healthy people

  • have genetic advantages

  • in terms of maintaining a healthy weight.

  • Dan: So that means that losing weight

  • isn't just about having willpower -

  • that's controlling your own

  • behaviour to achieve something - it's

  • actually about something

  • that's out of our control?

  • Neil: Yes, possibly. Let's hear

  • from the study's author, Sadaf Farooqi,

  • who is Professor of

  • Metabolism and Medicine at the

  • University of Cambridge, and has been

  • a pioneer in the genetics of obesity

  • for more than twenty years. Obesity,

  • of course, is where someone is very

  • overweight, in a way that is dangerous for

  • their health. Here she is speaking on the

  • BBC World Service programme,

  • Health Check. What does she say

  • might be one of the benefits of this

  • research for people who are overweight?

  • Sadaf Farooqi: It actually can be very

  • helpful in trying to get them

  • to come to terms with some of the

  • difficulties they may be having

  • but also help them engage

  • with help and support to try and

  • encourage weight loss... I hope

  • one of the main outcomes

  • of this work might be,

  • to a little bit, to start to get people

  • thinking about that.

  • Because people are very

  • judgemental and tend to think,

  • look if I can stay thin and control

  • my weight why can't you? And what I

  • would say to that is, well the data now

  • shows that you're probably quite

  • lucky in terms of the genes that

  • you have rather than just being

  • either morally superior

  • or having better willpower.

  • Neil: Some interesting thoughts there.

  • For people who are overweight,

  • this research can help them

  • come to terms with the struggle they may

  • be having to lose weight. When you

  • come to terms with something,

  • you start to accept the difficult or

  • unpleasant situation you are in.

  • Dan: So I suppose she means

  • accepting that if you're trying to shed a

  • few pounds unsuccessfully,

  • it's not all your fault. And it may stop

  • people being so judgemental -

  • that's so quick to criticise

  • people based on their own beliefs.

  • Neil: A slim person might say, \"Well,

  • I ate less and lost weight,

  • so why can't you?\" - and now

  • we know things aren't quite that simple.

  • You are just lucky to have the right genes

  • but it doesn't make you 'morally superior'.

  • Dan: So it's not just about

  • having willpower.

  • Neil: This research is much more

  • detailed of course than we have

  • time to explain here

  • but for someone who is overweight,

  • will they feel defeated?

  • Dan: Absolutely not, according to

  • Professor Farooqi. For people

  • who are obese, this research

  • is helpful. Not only should it give them

  • hope, it could lead to the development of

  • medicines to help them.

  • Neil: But as genes only play a part in our

  • size and weight, we should

  • all eat a healthy

  • diet and do some exercise.

  • And there is always new research

  • about the best things to do and

  • the right things to eat.

  • Dan: Recently, research published

  • in the British Journal of Sports Medicine,

  • said that bursts of high intensity

  • interval training may be more effective

  • for weight loss than longer

  • less intense workouts. A burst is a sudden

  • and short increase in something.

  • Neil: Even if diets don't help you

  • lose weight - eating the balanced diet

  • can certainly keep you healthy

  • and make you feel good. And as

  • I'm talking about diets, why don't I answer

  • the question I asked you earlier?

  • What's the name of the popular diet

  • in which you should avoid eating

  • carbohydrates but you can have as much

  • fat and protein as you want? Is it...

  • a) the Mediterranean diet, b) the Atkins

  • diet, or c) the Graham diet?

  • Dan: I said the Atkins diet.

  • Neil: And that is correct, well done. This

  • well-known low-carb diet was developed by

  • the American physician and

  • cardiologist Robert Atkins in the 1960s.

  • Others low-card diets

  • are available!

  • Dan: Neil, I think it's time we

  • reminded ourselves of some of the

  • vocabulary we've discussed today.

  • Neil: Good idea. Let's talk about paunch -

  • another name for a fat stomach

  • that men like me - and you - have.

  • Dan: Speak for yourself! I'm closer

  • to skinny - a word to describe

  • someone looking very

  • thin and sometimes ill. Our next word was