So the researchers looked to the genetic data, and indeed, there were two specific genes that stood out related to patterns of fat loss and exercise. Participants with certain combinations of those genes and their variants had significantly different fat loss outcomes.
The complex science at this level can be pretty confusing. Genes are named with different alpha-numeric characters, and so are their variant alleles. If you're not careful, you can end up in some real alphabet soup just trying to talk about it, but basically two genes are involved here: the CYP19 and the COMT.
Researchers found that having one CYP19 gene and its variants was not consistently associated with percentage fat, total fat, subcutaneous fat or intra-abdominal fat, the dangerous excess that gathers around our vital organs.
