Sharmy and Julius Kaiser
Sharmy and Julius Kaiser say fat people make healthy people feel awkward (sharnyandjulius.com/)

Two fitness trainers from Australia have made some strong remarks about overweight people, saying they are lazy and should be ashamed of themselves.

Married couple Julius and Sharny Kieser run a personal training business in Queensland aimed specifically at people who are already fit.

They say problems have emerged because so many more people are now overweight, meaning healthy people are now the minority. Julius added that healthy people are made to feel uncomfortable about prioritising their health.

He told The Australian: "We're sick of fat people complaining and moaning about their weight, like they are victims. There is a small proportion of obese people who genuinely need help.

"The problem is the other group of people who are fat and lazy; who just take advantage of all the help that is out there because they think they deserve it.

"Twenty years ago it was mean to point out the one fat kid in the class, because he or she genuinely had a problem. But now, 80 to 90 percent of us are overweight if not obese and it's become un-PC to say anything about that."

He said poor health is one of the worst things people can inflict upon themselves, and is on a par with drug addiction.

Explaining how to live a healthy life the couple said people must not accept being overweight: "You should be uncomfortable about it, you should be ashamed about it. You need to do something about it.

"Fit people can be influenced by the people around them. As they steadily choose to live a healthy life, they can become side-tracked by the people closest to them, like their husband or wife.

Obesity
Researchers in Missouri find genetics plays a role in exercise motivation (Reuters) Reuters

"We give them advice and tips to help them keep going on the healthy path. Hopefully this will widen the gap so that they'll eventually inspire other people around them to live healthily too."

The Kiesers' controversial comments, however, may have been challenged by a study from the University of Missouri, which found some people are genetically predisposed to be lazy.

Examining rats, the researchers found genetics plays a role in exercise motivation, suggesting a reason as to why some people have more trouble motivating themselves to exercise.

By breeding rats that were either notably lazy or extremely active, the researchers found genetic differences between the two groups.

Researcher Michael Roberts said: "While we found minor differences in the body composition and levels of mitochondria in muscle cells of the rats, the most important thing we identified were the genetic differences between the two lines of rats.

"Out of more than 17,000 different genes in one part of the brain, we identified 36 that may play a role in predisposition to physical activity motivation.

"We have shown that it is possible to be genetically predisposed to being lazy. This could be an important step in identifying additional causes for obesity in humans, especially considering dramatic increases in childhood obesity in the United States.

"It would be very useful to know if a person is genetically predisposed to having a lack of motivation to exercise, because that could potentially make them more likely to grow obese."