Thanks A Lot Mum...

Able And Game

My mum has spent years telling me that the things I like least about myself – my man hands, my wingnut ears, my short legs – are all thanks to my dad's genes. And that might be true, but it turns out Mamma Harrington is not off the hook entirely, because I just read an article in the Daily Mail that suggests your mother's gentic input might matter more than you think when it comes to health and wellbeing. So what are the big ones, according to the experts?

• Migranes: If your mum gets 'em, there's a 70-80% chance you'll get 'em too.
• Breast cancer: If you carry the mutated gene BRCA1 or BRCA2, you're more likely to inherit the condition.
• Fitness: The ease at which you build muscle and improve your fitness is up to 50% inherited.
• Depression: There's around a 10% risk of the illness if your mum suffers from it.
• Rheumatroid arthritis: If your mum had it, you're 50% more likely to develop the condition.
• Alzheimer's: There is only a 3-5% increased risk of developing dementia but a 30-50% greater risk of suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's if your mum did.
• Heart disease: Up to 20% more likely if your mother had a heart attack.

Not sure if your mum or granny had any of these ailments? It could be worth sitting down with her to find out. So at least when the Doc asks you if you have a family history of heart disease, you can say, "Well, actually..." instead of doing what I did and just shooting him a shrug and a confused look.