Henry quoted Move Your DNA by Katy Bowman
"In Move Your DNA, biomechanist Katy Bowman explains our deep need for movement - right …
A gene is a specific sequence of DNA on a single chromosome that encodes a particular product. Many people associate genes with the concept of pre-determination, and will use these terms interchangeably, as in, "The doctor said my bad knees were genetic," or, "Research shows that cardiovascular disease is genetic." But using the term genetic in this way is at best outdated and at worst totally paralyzing to the person with the issue. It would be more accurate to think about genes as "range-setters" of an outcome. Your genetic constitution is not a picture of how you are going to look now and in the future. Rather, your genetic makeup is like one of those disks you put in a View-Master-a plethora of potential outcomes for you to select by toggling on the View-Master's lever.
— Move Your DNA by Katy Bowman (Page 38)
Holy moly I am SO happy this is addressed. I hear so many things from people (especially through my coaching) that revolve around “it runs in my family” or “it’s genetic” when they haven’t even attempted any solution to make the problem better. If your genetics predispose you to “bad arches in your feet” (which I doubt their doctor did a formal lab test to confirm this is actually genetic) - then why do you think sticking yourself in an orthotic to further enable the weakness of your arches is doing anything to address the problem? Perhaps the reason why your arch is weak is partially (if not mostly) due to lifestyle decisions. Even if it’s not caused by lifestyle decisions, lifestyle decisions can IMPROVE the problem, whereas the orthotic just removes the pain without removing the problem.
Just to outline, there ARE situations where genetics can have very real impacts on people and their health, but I don’t believe that it’s the majority of situations that I’ve had to work with, if any.