Nature vs. Nurture

607 Words3 Pages
Nature vs. Nurture Epigenetics is the theory that environmental factors can change the characteristics of organisms and this change can sometimes be passed down to future offspring. I had never heard of epigenetics until I read the article titled “Why Your DNA Isn’t Your Destiny”. It really made me think about some of the choices I have made in my life. If this theory is true, my choices may not only affect my personal health, quality of life, and life span but also that of my children and grandchildren. I consider myself to be a healthy person and I exercise and try to eat right but every day we hear of things that were considered healthy a few years ago that have now been determined to be unhealthy. The article also made the think about how my parent’s and grandparents choices may also affect my health and that of my children. During the 1950’s when my parents were born, a lot of women smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol the whole time they were pregnant. I think most women today know that they should eat healthy and refrain from smoking and drinking while they are pregnant because it can affect the health of their baby. According to epigenetics though, the mother’s lifestyle even before she is pregnant can affect the health of the baby throughout their whole life and even on to their children. If the theory of epigenetics is proven to be true, it should drastically improve the lifestyles that most people currently have. I believe that people would try harder to be healthy by exercising, eating healthier, and staying away from bad habits like smoking and drinking if they thought it would affect their children and grandchildren. Most people today know that some of the things they do are not healthy but have the mindset that they are only hurting their self so it is nobody’s business. The process of manipulating epigenetic marks in the lab to suppress
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