Have you even wondered why you have such an easy time passing on the nachos piled high with cheese and sour cream, but your spouse just can’t resist digging in? It may seem like a matter of willpower, but a new study published in the journal Obesity has found a more complicated reason.

Scientists have discovered the reason why some people have a difficult time on a low-fat diet compared to people who don’t mind banishing fat from their diets. It’s all in our genetics.

A team of scientists from Columbia University, Rutgers University, Penn State, and Cornell University studied the reaction of 317 subjects to Italian salad dressings to discover their preference for fat. Researchers asked the subjects to taste salad dressings with varying amounts of canola oil and rate their preferences. Then the subjects were given a survey where they rated their preferences for fatty foods in general, including ice cream, fried chicken, sour cream, bacon, hot dogs, etc.

Scientist found that subjects who had the AA varient of the CD36 gene preferred eating fatty foods and rated the salad dressing to be creamier than the subjects that did not have the AA varient. The CD36 gene is involved in fatty acid and glucose metabolism, taste, and dietary fat processing in the intestine. The AA varient of this gene is present in 21 percent of the population.

Scientists are hoping to use this data to test children for the AA varient of the CD36 gene. By scanning the population to identify children who have a genetic preference for dietary fat, scientists are hoping to reduce their risk of developing obesity later in life by educating them about proper nutrition.

Do you think that genetic testing can help people who might be at risk of becoming obese? Why or why not?