It is no big secret that exercise leads to a healthy lifestyle. You feel more energetic, decrease the risk of certain diseases and conditions, and lower and maintain your weight. This is all common knowledge. However, a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that partaking in consistent physical activity can actually combat against the genetics that cause certain people to become afflicted by obesity.

Dr. Soren Snitker of the University of Maryland and the rest of the research team looked to a group of Amish people with the FTO gene, which produces obesity. What baffled the team initially was the fact that these people, despite the obvious indicator that they should be overweight, simply weren’t. In fact, they all seemed to weigh similar amounts as friends and neighbors who did not posses the FTO gene. And what was the common denominator? Simple: exercise. The participants were required to wear an accelerometer, which monitored motion. After comparing the device’s findings with BMI (Body Mass Index), height and weight, it was discovered that those who were active were unaffected by the FTO gene.

"When we looked at the Amish who were the most active, there is suddenly no effect of that gene," said Snitker. These findings are implicative that there is a solid way of fighting one’s genetic destiny. Thankfully, it is not a solution that involves pumping various drugs into the body or undergoing years of specific treatment. It is an activity everyone knows how to participate in. Exercise has always been a recommended part of daily life, but now there lies further proof of the benefits it can bring about to any who participate.

Even the Amish, who are not equipped with fully functioning home gyms and who are not carrying year-long memberships in their pockets use their day-to-day life to include exercise. The researchers found horse-drawn plows still in use, among other methods of physical labor.

With this vital information, Snitker proposes society make exercise more accessible. With technology making it easier for people to partake in lazier lifestyles, the risk of obesity is heightened. "We probably carry genes that 150 years ago were not risk factors for obesity, but because of changes in our environment, they become liabilities," he said.

This study is vital to take note of, and apply to everyone’s lifestyle.