People aren’t exactly born “naturally fat”. Genetics does play an important part in weight, though. People with certain genes are more likely to overeat and be less active and may have a harder time maintaining a healthy weight than others. However, genetics is only a small part of the reason. Your weight has much more to do with what you eat and how much exercise you get. No matter what, everyone needs to eat nutritious foods to stay active, keep their body strong and healthy, and maintain a healthy weight.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.