Personality does not depend on genes

Gene shaped our health and appearance more than our character. A new study on thousands of people living in an area isolated from the world has shown that.

According to a new study, genetics plays 51% in determining the height, weight and body shape of each person, 25% of cardiovascular function and 40% of blood characteristics, such as sugar content and cholesterol. But genes play only 19% in creating many personality traits such as extrovert, permissiveness or integrity.

Professor Gonçalo Abecasis, at the University of Michigan, USA, and colleagues studied 6,148 people from the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean, most of them relatives.

The group tested blood, conducted physical tests, asked participants to fill out a personal questionnaire. They also tested liver and thyroid function, cholesterol, glucose .

To find out how genes affect each trait, the team first calculates the common DNA content of each pair of relatives. For example, the DNA of identical twins is often 100% identical, the siblings are 50% identical, the uncle's pair has a similarity of 25%, the cousin is about 12.5%.

Researchers collated that information with health, weight, personality and other data. They found that genes affect their appearance more than each other's personality.

However, even if the gene determines whether a person will be fat or thin, we cannot blame our obesity due to genetics. It is the lifestyle that led to today's obesity epidemic, said Dr. David Schlessinger at the National Institute of Aging.

"However, it is true that some people have a genetic structure that helps them have a more reasonable diet and lifestyle than other people," Schlessinger added.

MT