Lessons from the Amish: We're not doomed to obesity*

OK, folks, it’s time for another round of Health Lessons We Can Learn From the Amish. Four years ago we discovered that the Amish maintained super-low obesity levels despite eating a diet high in fat, calories and refined sugar. They key was their level of physical activity — men averaged 18,000 steps a day, women 14,000. That’s monumental compared to the paltry couple of thousand or so most of us eke out in a day.

A recent study revealed even more about the Old Order Amish: They maintain low obesity levels despite having a gene variation that makes them susceptible to obesity. The secret here? You guessed it — lots of physical activity.

"A lot of the Amish are farmers and participate in manual activities," says Evadnie Rampersaud, associate research professor at the Miami Institute for Human Genomics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and the study’s lead author (the study was done when she was at the University of Maryland). "Even household chores are intense because they don’t have the conveniences that we have." Those in the high ranges were active six to nine hours a day, others, three to four. The 711 participants in the study, published in the Sept. 8 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, had their daily movements tracked for a week with accelerometers, devices that monitor activity.

The FTO gene, shown in other studies to have an association with obesity and high body mass index, showed up among the Amish — some had two copies of the variation, and some had none. But even some who had the double variation avoided being overweight.

"The studies show that if you have two copies of the gene and you’re incorporating physical activity in your daily life, you’re less likely to become obese," says Rampersaud. "This tells us that we’re not doomed by our genes."

But she doesn’t recommend people run to the nearest geneticist and get tested. "Obesity isn’t really determined by genetics alone, but by environmental factors as well. (This quote has been modified from the original to render it more accurate, at Rampersaud's request. The original quote was: "Obesity isn’t really determined by genetics, but by environmental factors.") We’re not doomed to become obese because we have this gene that we may or may not know about. By living a healthy lifestyle, getting physical activity, eating a proper diet, you can actually impact the final outcome." Similarly, those without the variation shouldn’t deem it a license to sit on the sofa and pig out.

Rampersaud also cautions against believing that this means people have to exercise six to nine hours a day to keep off the pounds. "You are going to have an increased benefit depending on the amount of exercise you get," she says. "But we need large scale studies in the general population to really figure this out."

In the meantime, anyone want to go out and plow the back 40?

-- Jeannine Stein

Photo credit: Dan Loh / AP

Comments

[Daniel]

"Occam's razor" plain and simple...

Energy consumed must be balanced with energy used to maintain low levels of energy storage especially around the middle section. Personally I think mass marketing has much to do with increased appetites maybe more so than the food its self, and then throw in the fact that any activity that can be done by spending money as oppose to doing your self seems to be the growing trend over time.. well then you have your results... Evolutionary laziness.

[dharper]

So what is the big news about this revelation? It doesn't take an Einstein to reach this conclusion.

As a farm kid raised in Iowa in the summer we ate breakfast at 6 AM, lunch in the field at 9 AM, dinner at 12 noon, lunch at 3 PM in the field, supper at 6 PM and then coffee, tea or milk and cookies at 9 PM. Every single day except Sunday. And every meal consisted of meat, potatos, gravey and vegtables.

The answer to our slimness was that we also worked our butts off all day long physically. People don't do that anymore, they live behind computers and TV sets. Our kids run around with iPods, Xboxes, etc and don't hit a lick.

Fat is what they are and what they will remain.

[Steven]

Not being obese and maintaining a high level of physical activity are all well and good, but how do Amish mortality rates or even just incidence of obesity-related illnesses (coronary problems, diabetes, etc) compare to the general population?

[luke]

Reminds me of a guy I knew in college who had always been "fat" until he discovered what he called the "bike 30 miles a day and eat whatever the heck you want" diet.

[Lee Larson]

CONSIDERING THAT MUCH OF THE 'HEALTHY FOOD' AVAILABLE IN THIS COUNTRY IS BEING RECALLED EVERY NOW AND THEN BECAUSE OF CONTAMINANTS, HOW CAN WE CALCULATE WHAT IS GOOD OR SAFE? AND CONSIDERING THAT A MAN OR WOMAN WORKING IN AN OFFICE AND DRAINED BY WORKING TOO MANY HOURS IS IN NO SHAPE TO DO ANY 'EXERCISE', HOW DO WE QUANTIFY AND QUALIFY WHAT IS OR IS NOT 'PHYSICAL ACTIVITY'? #THE REAL WORLD DOES HAVE TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT HERE, NOT JUST THE 'GET FIRM AND TRIM' BOOKS AND TV SHOWS.

[Jade]

Another ridiculous study. Take the fattest individual and restrict his/her calorie intake or increase physical activity by said fat person and you will have a thin individual regardless of genetic propensity. That's not science, that's common sense.

Everyday I see people eat like pigs at a trough and genetics are not to blame for their fattness. Gorging like a starved animal and living on a diet of McCalories and Frappucinos is causing nearly everyone around me to be exceedingly, morbidly corpulent.

[Arlo Scott Kennedy]

This is revolutionary!

But it's not the only revolutionary story in the news today:

1) Working with populations in the Fjords, Norwegian scientists have discovered that climbing to a place approximately 70 to 100 feet or higher and leaping groundward, from a spot where no obstacles exist between the leaper and the ground, leads in most cases to serious injury or death.

2) A team of Harvard anthropologists, in a longitudinal study of the Yanamamo tribes of the Amazon basin, have discovered that smearing human excrement on open wounds often leads to serious infections.

3) A Princeton University economist announced today that nations that run up ever-larger deficits while printing ever more currency to cover for the practice are likely to experience (at some point) a marked devaluation of that currency.

4) Dr. Michael Rassmussen of the Rassmussen Institute of Alcoholism & Addictionology has discovered that the consumption of large quantities of alcohol (six or more ounces per day) over a period of decades tends to severely impede liver function. (NOTE: This finding was the result of a $70 billion dollar federally-funded study.)

5) After a fifty year study of Central African tribes, Dr. Sabah Delictico of Cambridge University has announced that pregnancy, a condition wherein a female homo sapiens carries a fertilized egg which becomes a foetus and an embryo, most often leads to the birth of an actual human being, thus putting to rest the notion that we are all delivered to our parents by a gigantic bird.

Stay tuned for more scientific breakthroughs!

Arlo

[Jerry/Orlando]

Go Amish. I eat like a pig and work like a dog, and I am well within my acceptable height/weight ratio. No mystery there.

[Art Turner]

Does anyone else see the humor in the wording of this quote?

"But we need large scale studies in the general population to really figure this out."

"LARGE SCALE studies"...get it?

[Westin Hatch]

Eating has become more of a hobby or entertainment rather than a necessity in this country. People do it for fun and not for nutrients. People need to learn a little bit more self-discipline and not just in this area but in many others. Self-indulgence is the plague of our generation. It is sad to see us spending billions on programs to lose weight while people around the world are impoverished and starving. All we need to do is eat what we need and exercise more. No miracle drink/pill/machine is going to do as good a job. We should take the stairs, eat less at each meal, and put our money to better use.

[Clark]

In response to the Jade:
Maybe you are missing a point. The researchers DID NOT restrict the calories intake of the participants. This study is about how environmental factors can offset genetic predisposition to obesity. Even though the result may be somewhat intuitive, I believe this study certainly has its validity.

[sue]

we in the south call it being "easy keepers",,,,, does not get you off the hook for being fat..... just gives some input

[Virginia]

The assumption is that the 'obesity gene" is an aberration and a bad thing to have. Guess what? For most of human history people had to work physically very hard for very little to eat. Those with an "obesity gene" had more efficient metabolic processing of that food; therefiore they prospered and survived better than those who didn't. Those with the gene are more fit (as in Darwin's survival of the fittest). Life's just too easy now for that kind of fitness!

[simon]

wow, we still need university research and articles in major news papers telling us that exercise is healthy?....

[Ken Hall]

I live in northern NY (St. Lawrence County) with an expanding Amish population wherein I have observed numerous husky (very) persons of the Amish persuasion of both sexes although more often female. Agreed the younger more active are usually slender.

[Scott Bartell]

Arlo's post about fake studies is funny but off target--the real study focused on whether the effect of the FTO gene on weight is modified by exercise, not whether exercise reduces weight. Also there are no financial disclosures in the published research article, which suggests that the research was not federally funded. These findings are worthwhile but not earth-shaking. However, given the obesity epidemic (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/index.htm) and the fact that most people in the US don't exercise regularly (http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/PASurveillance/StateSumV.asp), I welcome any newspaper stories that remind us of the connection.

[Charlie Phillips]

This really is a breakthrough study. However, we need a lot more money for research. I would like a few million dollars to try to discover the Amish gene. I believe there may be a gene that prevents the Amish from joining our wonderful, rational, scientific society. Can't they see the light? More money for research please. We need something for our middle class kids to do. A job with a lot of money and don't get your hands dirty. Research money is the key.

[dave]

Everyone is fooled. The Amish eat organically and donot breath flame retardant dust in their "old fashioned" homes. Thus they are less contaminated with obesogen chemicals than the rest of us. I'm thin and eat all I can, but 100% organic only.

[Steve]

The Amish don't eat high fructose corn syrup, a man made demon which has American kids and adults addicted like a heroin addict to heroin. Look up a chart. The introduction of high fructose corn syrup and the beginning of childhood obesity run hand in hand on a chrono chart.

[Pat]

A 20 year study was completed many years ago in which Irish siblings were subjects. The purpose was to determine causes of heart disease, elevated cholesterol levels, etc.. Researchers followed primarily men where one moved to the US and one or more siblings remained in Ireland. Those living in the US all had a greater degree of negative results while their brothers did not. Those in Ireland consumed a diet far higher in fats yet had normal cholesterol levels and healthier hearts, were slimmer and lived longer. Short version: Those in Ireland walked, rode bicycles, did more physical labor than their American brothers.

[Forbes]

I live in Mexico, in a town with no roads and no cars. While there are certainly fat people (Mexicans, too, eat a very calorie-rich diet with lots of fats and sugar), most of the people are slim. Within the first few months there, I lost 10 lbs. and gained lean muscle mass. One thing the Amish don't use is cars ... they walk. If we all walked more and ate less, obesity would be the aberration and not the norm. We don't need science to understand that...

[Donald]

Manual labor brings along with it another benefit besides optimal body weight, and that is superior intelligence overall. Within my teaching circles, I really don't have to substantiate what I've just claimed. No manual labor, or strenuous exercise, makes Jack a very dull boy.

[Hugh Jass]

The value of this study is that it counteracts the tendency of people to believe that genetics are destiny. Amazing developments in genetics are easily misinterpreted by many to mean that genetics completely determine what we become. While genetics have strong effects, non-genetic factors are often equally important and involve making voluntary choices. People who do not recognize that choices exist don't bother trying. Studies like this remind us to focus on what we can control rather than focus on what is beyond our control.

[fred]

Unbelievable!! Who would EVER have guessed that a lot of hard physical work would burn calories and prevent obesity!

We need MORE studies to enlighten us!!!

More government grants for studies that uncover hidden truths like this!!

[fred]

"Not being obese and maintaining a high level of physical activity are all well and good, but how do Amish mortality rates or even just incidence of obesity-related illnesses (coronary problems, diabetes, etc) compare to the general population?"

Posted by: Steven

It's very interesting that you ask this. A century long study of the health of the Amish was done by Columbia University, and the results were just released last Thursday.

It shows that 100 per cent of the subjects enrolled in the study eventually died.

In order to verify this, Duke University will do a similar study, which will hope to pinpoint the cause of death, and why there was not a single survivor.

Results will be released on September 4, 2108.