The age-old expression that "you are what you eat" may not be necessarily so according to researchers at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University and colleagues from King's College in London. Based on a study conducted by Professor Gregory Livshits in Tel Aviv, a scientific link has been uncovered between the lean body mass of a woman and her genes. Their findings, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, show that thinness is an inheritable trait, which explains why some women can eat anything they want to without gaining an ounce while others continually struggle with their weight regardless of how much they diet.

Despite the genetic link between weight and genetics, Professor Livshits believes that women can go against their genetic makeup and do something about their weight. The researchers are working on a "skinny gene test," which could at least explain which women need to pay special attention to their weight as they age.