Genetic differences mean that some people can avoid putting on their ladies fitness clothing and exercising regularly yet still not gain weight, an international consortium has suggested.

More than 400 scientists from 280 research institutions have identified 18 new gene sites associated with obesity and 13 that affect fat distribution.

They are set to publish their findings in the journal Nature Genetics.

The studies that the researchers looked at included data from nearly a quarter of a million participants.

Senior author of a paper on the research Dr Joel Hirschhorn, of Children's Hospital Boston and the Broad Institute, said: "Different people have different susceptibilities to obesity. Some of this variability is genetic and our goal was to increase understanding of why different people have different inherited susceptibility to obesity."

When it comes to being physically active, research published in the October 2010 journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise revealed that American adults walk less than people in Switzerland, Australia and Japan.

Posted by Sue Wallis ADNFCR-2569-ID-800109083-ADNFCR

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