There is no arguing that genetics play a role in our health. We all have genetic predispositions towards various health outcomes, both good and bad.
The thing that bothers me about generics and health outcomes is that right now there isn’t really anything we can do about it, you can’t change your genetic predisposition. If you are genetically more likely to develop obesity or diabetes it’s the same as saying you are genetically more likely to be shorter or have blue eyes.
With your height or eye color you get what you get and you can’t be upset. However that is not true about health outcomes, you can influence the end result regardless of your genetic predisposition.
An unusual and interesting example I recently came across studied one’s genetic predisposition to be strong and how that impacted various health outcomes (Genome-Wide Polygenic Score for Muscle Strength Predicts Risk for Common Diseases and Lifespan: A Prospective Cohort Study, 2024).
In this study researchers in Finland looked at the genetics of more than 300,000 men and women and associated the genes related to muscle strength with various health outcomes. At a high level what they found was that those who had more genes associated with strength had better health outcomes for most health outcomes.
This table highlights some of the results.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10972579/
Let me explain some of the things in this table so you can better understand some of the results.
First let’s get some terminology out of the way.
PGS HGS stands for polygenic score for hand grip strength, or in plain English your genetic predisposition to have a strong grip.
HR stands for hazard ratio. In this table, a hazard ratio closer to 1 would indicate you were more likely than not to develop a health outcome. That means the lower the number the better in terms of your health.
An intermediate PGS HGS (the first column in the above table) was associated with people who were in the top 20-80% for genetically predicted handgrip strength. A high PGS HGS were the individuals who were above 80% for genetically predicted handgrip strength.
OK, now that you can understand the table, look at the hazard ratios (HR) in the two columns and compare.
What you will likely see is that if you had a high genetic predisposition to having more grip strength your hazard ratio would be lower for nearly all health outcomes signifying you would be less likely to develop that condition!
The only health condition that (genetic) strength was not a predictor of was hip arthrosis, common cancer, and fractures.
These results are frankly not surprising as actual muscle strength (not genetically predicted muscle strength) has a very strong correlation with a reduction in death of all causes (Association of Muscle Wasting With Mortality Risk Among Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies, 2023).
Why am I telling you this?
Let’s take myself as an example.
Based on my build I will never have a lot of muscle mass. When you compare my body weight and bone mass to someone of similar height and sex as me, I am always on the smaller end of the spectrum. My body is just not built to support a ton of muscle. Men much shorter and smaller than myself can lift a lot more weight than I can. Plus no one in my family is big and strong either.
In all likelihood I just don’t have the genetics that would predict I would be strong.
That might sound discouraging for someone like me because based on this study it is increasing my likelihood of developing some pretty terrible medical conditions.
Not so fast…because there is more to this story.
It just so happens a few weeks ago I competed in a grip competition which tests your grip strength (yes those actually exist!) and I came in second place in my weight class out of everyone who competed across the world.
I am not saying this to sound impressive, but instead to demonstrate that your genetic predisposition towards strength is only part of the story. Unlike your genetically determined eye color or height, you can do something to change your strength for the better!
No matter how hard you try you won’t change your eye color.
However when it comes to things like strength, even with a modest amount of effort put into resistance training it can allow you to become strong enough, certainly strong enough to combat some of these health outcomes!
Imagine I had a twin and we were genetically identical except in one area, strength. Unlike me they hit the genetic jackpot when it came to strength. Just looking at our genetics my twin should have better health outcomes than me (at least according to this study).
However let’s say I resistance train but they don’t and I am able to develop some pretty decent strength despite my genetic predisposition.
Now who is more likely to have the worst health outcomes?
My twin!
When it comes to genetics and health outcomes what we often find is that our lifestyle can trump our genetic predisposition. It is not just genetics related to strength, it is true of conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, mental health, and much more! You might have to work harder or be more diligent in some areas of your life to make up for your genetic predisposition but it is not impossible to overcome!
There is not going to be anything more powerful in determining your health outcomes than the lifestyle practices you develop and maintain throughout your life. This is why each week I provide free actionable information around how to develop a lifestyle that is optimal for you, your life, and your goals. The best way to get this information is to sign up for my newsletter, all you have to do is put your email address in the form below to join.
As an added bonus once you join the newsletter I will give a free resistance training program that you can follow to put yourself in a better position to combat these health outcomes regardless of your genes. So what are you waiting for? Join the newsletter and download your FREE resistance training program here!
References
Association of muscle wasting with mortality risk among adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. (2023, May 20). PubMed. Retrieved July 29, 2024, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37209044/
Genome-Wide Polygenic Score for Muscle Strength Predicts Risk for Common Diseases and Lifespan: A Prospective Cohort Study. (2024, April 1). PubMed. Retrieved July 29, 2024, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38450701/