The elusive secret to staying slim doesn’t have a lot to do with diet and exercise, a new study has suggested. Instead, and possibly discouraging for many, it has to do with your genes.

Researchers at Cambridge University in the UK searched through DNA samples of 1,600 healthy thin adults with a body mass index of less than 19. They compared them with DNA samples of 2,000 seriously obese people and 10,400 people of average weight.

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The study found that overweight people were more prone to have genes linked to obesity, while slim people had fewer of those genes connected to being overweight. The research also observed that there are gene regions specifically linked to being thin. Sadaf Farooqi, a professor at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the study, said:

“This research shows for the first time that healthy thin people are generally thin because they have a lower burden of genes that increase a person’s chances of being overweight and not because they are morally superior, as some people like to suggest. It’s easy to rush to judgement and criticize people for their weight but science shows that things are far more complex.”

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The researchers now, with the long-term goal of helping people manage weight-loss, want to find the specific genes that are linked to being thin.

Even though the study challenges the assumption that overweight people are lazy or unmotivated, Dr. Steve Mowle, honorary treasurer at the Royal College of GPs said:

“We do know that there are a host of other factors, other than genetics, at play in determining a patient’s weight, such as diet and how often they exercise.

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Regardless of their genetics, Dr. Mowle emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, saying:

“…a well-balanced diet, taking regular exercise, drinking alcohol in moderation, not smoking, and getting enough sleep.”

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