DNA could be preventing you from shedding pounds: Study

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Add genetic makeup to the reasons you can’t lose weight.

New research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Ben Gurion University in Israel revealed that one-third of people who followed a healthy diet didn’t lose any weight, although they did experience health benefits.

The study’s participants exhibited “significant improvements” in cardio-metabolic markers, such as cholesterol, lower levels of hunger hormone leptin and less visceral fat, which is found “deep inside” the abdominal cavity, according to a news release, per the New York Post.

The research findings were published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology. The study analyzed changes in weight and health for 761 individuals in Israel who had abdominal obesity.

During three trials, participants were assigned to specific healthy diets, including low-fat, low-carb, Mediterranean and green-Mediterranean diets, for 18 to 24 months.

Across all the clinical trials, 36% of participants achieved “clinically significant” weight loss, while 36% achieved moderate weight loss. Meanwhile, 28% lost no weight or even gained weight.

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Those who were resistant to weight loss, mostly older individuals and women, showed the same health improvements as the participants who lost weight.

“We have been conditioned to equate weight loss with health, and weight-loss-resistant individuals are often labeled as failures,” lead study author Anat Yaskolka Meir, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School, wrote in a statement.

The study, which was funded by the German Research Foundation, did have some limitations.

Most participants were men, researchers said, adding that similar studies should focus on women in the future.

Dr. Philip Rabito, an endocrinologist and weight-loss specialist in New York City, told Fox News Digital in an interview that the study findings support what he’s experienced in his own practice.

“There are likely genetic factors that affect an individual’s ability to lose weight,” said Rabito, who wasn’t involved in the study. “Simply stated, despite similar efforts, caloric restriction and lifestyle interventions, some patients lose more weight than others.”

Some individuals will not respond “as robustly” to interventions like others, although this can be overcome with correct guidance, Rabito said.

“With proper counselling, dedication and adherence to a lifestyle program, all patients should be able to appreciate weight loss,” he said.

“Even if there is minimal or no weight loss, the study shows that there are still improvements in health parameters just from participating in a weight-loss program.”

For those who don’t lose weight with traditional weight-loss programs, prescription medications may be an option, he added.

Manoel Galvao Neto, M.D., director of bariatric research at Orlando Health Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Institute, agreed that DNA can influence weight loss.

“It is a true combination of genetic factors, and it affects the metabolism, appetite, fat storage and response to diet and exercise,” he said in a separate interview with Fox News Digital.

Based on emerging research, Neto said that obesity treatment can be more easily personalized, allowing those with genetic setbacks to achieve their fitness goals.

“If you have the marker for ‘hungry brain,’ and you take the GLP-1, you maximize your weight loss by up to 20%,” the doctor said.

“Obesity is a disease that is chronic, it is progressive, and so far, we don’t have a cure, but we are getting more and more information to help control it in a personalized way.”