Heredity

Heredity

Some of these factors are beyond our control-heredity, for example, gender (women are twice as prone as men), and race (African Americans are twice as susceptible as whites). But the other suspected causes of gallstones clearly are within our power to control-first and foremost being the amount of excess body fat we carry, studies show. "Exceeding one's ideal weight by as little as 20 to 30 percent can increase risks by as much as 100 percent, and risks become considerably greater as weight increases beyond that."