Only the Least Healthy Use Genetics as an Excuse

In recent years, we’ve learned that genetics may play a role in everything from obesity to addictive behavior to various forms of cancer.  Despite the fact that we know that our behavior can make a huge difference in our health, it might be tempting to rationalize away bad health behaviors.  ”What does it matter if I smoke?  Cancer runs in my family, I’m bound to get it no matter what I do.”

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health wondered whether the public at large is using genetics as a rationalization for unhealthy behaviors.  Suzanne O’Neill, now an assistant professor at Georgetown University, decided to research the program while she was a postdoctoral student at the National Institutes of Health.  O’Neill and her co-authors reported results of a survey of 2,000 adults on beliefs about genes and health.

What O’Neill and her co-authors found was that people who have the poorest health behaviors, especially those with multiple negative health behaviors (smoking, failing to exercise, and eating poorly, for example) were most likely to say they believed that genetics were the primary cause of high blood pressure and cancer.  They were also the least likely to want information on healthy behaviors.

Healthier people were more likely to believe that behavior played a more important role in health, and they were more likely to want to become more educated about healthy behaviors.

O’Neill is cautiously optimistic about the survey results.  More people wanted information about healthy habits than about genetic risks (67% compared to 57%).

Even though the members of the public who believe that genetics plays the most important role in their health are less interested in becoming educated about healthy habits, O’Neill says this information can help medical educators figure out how to approach such individuals.  By offering information on genetic risk first, medical providers can open a discussion that might lead to explaining the importance of individual behavior in preventing health problems.