Neither of my parents have weight problems. In fact, my mother is thin. The women on my father's side tend to be chubby and gain in the belly and boobs (which is where I gain).
The women in my family are super obese. My Grandfather's sisters are 700 and 400 lbs respectively. My Grandfather's mother was well into the 300's. My mother has been as much as 280 (but is in the low 200's now), One of my mother's sisters is over 300lbs, and the other one is over 200. And my father's sister is over 200 as well. There is also a lot of diabetes in my family. So I was pretty much genetically screwed.
We're a fairly typical Irish family. Those who work out and eat well are thin and fit. Those who don't pack on the weight. It's pretty scary how easy and fast that happens.
My mom was 4'11, 100 lbs until menopause, when she went up to 120. My dad's side of the family tends to be the "heavier" side - but they also don't exercise and love pasta.
I definitely get my body shape from my dad's side of the family, though.
ETA - My sisters are also overweight - we all share paternal genes. My older sister has the same shape as I do, long torso and hourglass figure - she's 5'7 and at my heaviest we probably weighed the same, she just had 3 inches on her side. My younger sister is 5'3 and very overweight, but she has biological issues that factor into that and she's also working to lose weight.
Even at my heaviest, I was always the "thin" one - which is kind of scary.
Last edited by stellarosa27; 03-17-2010 at 08:54 AM.
My mom is obese, but not as big as I am. And she wasn't really that big until her 40s, before that she was just overweight. I have one cousin who is obese, and another who struggles to maintain a healthy weight. My dad, sister, all my aunts and uncles, and my other 14 cousins are all thin.
Almost all the women on my Dad's side of the family have 'big bones' and are obese. I always thought I inherited my build from that side and that my weight was a given (**big ol' excuse**). My Mom's side of the family is 'normal.'
Both of my parents are in the normal BMI range. However, both sides of my family are "big boned" people, and we're all very tall and very wide, but not fat. Well, except for me, hehe. Even the "small" ones of us never can get below a size 12.
My mother's mother, on the other hand, was obese. But she passed away before my mom even met my dad, so I never knew her. She's part of the reason why I feel like I need to get this under control. Her weight didn't kill her (she was an alcoholic), but I don't think it helped, either.
All of my immediate family is overweight, but my parents are working hard to lose now. Both grandmas on my mom's side (one is a step-grandma) are/were morbidly obese. My paternal grandma is pear shaped like me and in the overweight range, but she feels the need to comment on everyone else's bodies. There are multiple cases of diabetes, heart problems (my paternal grandpa has had 3 heart attacks-- no joke. He is a living miracle.) My older sister is a tiny bit bigger than I am, but not by much. At 5'3.5" and 151 pounds, I am the thinnest person in my family.
Interesting question... in fact it is one I think about often. My Dad has always been relatively thin 6'3" around 190. Since my brother was born 17 years ago, my mom has been overweight and eventually obese. Her relationship with food is completely out of whack.
My sister is thin-ish 5'8" 135 and my brother is struggling to gain weight at 5'9" 155
On Dad's side no one really has weight problems. On Mom's side, my grandmother is overweight but not as much as my mom.
Everyone in my family for the most part is normal weight. My mother got a little big post pregnancy; however, has been around 5'3'' and 110 lbs for years. She's a tiny little thing. As for dad, he's the typical former college football player who thought he could go on eating crazy for life. He was very fit up until late 30's when he ballooned to 300 plus at 6'4''. Brothers are normal weight. I'm the "fat" one. But now I think people perceive me as more normal. In fact, most of my team describes me as "tall and lean". its a real switch to hear;however, have been told not to argue. But that's another story. There's even a girl on my team who genuinely gets pissed if I refer to myself as big in any way shape or form.
No one in my immediate family is overweight. My mom has been borderline, but she's sooo petite. My dad is very thin, as is my little brother. I was the black sheep in that area.
My mother has 5 siblings who are not overweight, but MANY of their kids (who are grown) struggle with their weight. Her brothers all married big women and there's a lifestyle factor there, too.
My father's family has always been thin. I was quite the anomaly.
Until about a year ago my immediate family was about as follows
Mom: 5'4, 115
Dad: 5'7, 135
Brother: 5'8, 145ish
My mom recently gained about thirty pounds from stress, and my dad has gained as well. But that is mostly due to his (for lack of a nicer way of putting it) drinking. My brother, last I checked is the same, I haven't seen him since June, so I'm no expert on his weight.
As for the rest of my family, they are all pretty average. Save for those few perfectly thin women, my grandmothers and two cousins. I've one obese female relative on either side, though both have taken initiative to change that. Neither was obese until they were about thirty (they are fifty six and forty nine). I have one cousin, male, with weight problems but he is seventeen and has grown about ten inches since the last time I saw him. I always felt like the odd one out.
What's your family history with weight?
