Are you a lazy slob who hates to work and sits around all day?
ME TOO.
I mean really - is this episode over yet?
It's nap time.
Hey everyone, Laci Green here for DNews.
Some have called the onset of the 21st century the couch potatofication of Amurica!
And yes, that is scientific terminology.
There's so much to do and see in the world!
....And you can do it all from the comfort of your own sofa.
Or office chair.
Or...wherever you happen to be sitting.
Now, a new study is saying hey, the fact that you sit on your butt so much may not be just
because of lifestyle changes of the modern world, it might actually be because of....your
genes.
This is some of the first hard evidence that some people may in fact be predisposed to
laziness!
It's the excuse to sit around that we've all been hoping and waiting for.
The study was recently published in the American Journal of Physiology.
Scientists at the University of Missouri basically monitored a bunch of rats and then sorted
them into 2 groups based on how much physical activity the rats did on their own: one group
was the "super runners" and the other was the "couch potatoes".
Then each group was isolated so they could only breed with their own kind.
They bred the rats for 10 generations, and what did they find?
The offspring of the super runners were willfully running an average of 10x longer every day
than the couch potato group.
To be sure it was actually genetic they looked at things like mitochondrial content in the
muscle cells, gotta check in on how the powerhouses are running.
They also looked at that rat's body composition.
In the end, they pinned 36 genes that may influence couch potato behavior -- narrowed
down from 17,000.
Now they've gotta figure out WHICH genes exactly and, of course, if this applies to humans.
Which sounds like a lot of work, if you ask me.
The study draws up that age old question, right?
Nature or nurture?
Am I lazy because I'm hardwired for it?
Or am I lazy because that's the lifestyle I was brought up with?
Because I lack discipline?
Or because I just really don't care?
As we discover that a lot of these traits may in fact start in our genes, how much of
said laziness is related to factors that are in my control?
I ask because I feel like in my heart of hearts, I am just.....so unbelievably lazy.
But I force myself to NOT be lazy.
I hate every minute of it.
BUT I STILL DO IT.
Is that nature or nature?
So, peeps.
Are you a couch potato or a super-runner?
Nature or nurture?
Tell me about it down below and I'll catcha next time here on DNews.
Byebye!