My whole family is always tired. Is that just us, or is it genetic?

When everyone in a family is tired, two things are usually mixed together: shared genes and shared habits. On the genetic side, the MTHFR gene affects how efficiently you convert folate and B12 into usable forms, and common variants run in families and are frequent in South Asians. The TMPRSS6 gene influences how well your body absorbs and regulates iron, so a family can inherit a tendency toward lower iron stores. Both folate, B12 and iron are central to energy production, so subtle inherited inefficiencies show up as persistent fatigue.

The environment amplifies it. Many Indian families share a largely vegetarian diet, which is naturally low in readily absorbed iron and in B12, since B12 comes mainly from animal foods. Add common patterns like short sleep, heavy carbohydrate meals and high tea consumption (tea can reduce iron absorption), and you get a household where deficiency-driven tiredness is the norm rather than the exception.

The practical takeaway: this is often very treatable, so do not just accept it. The single most useful step is a simple blood test for iron, ferritin, B12 and vitamin D for the people who are most tired. Inherited iron and B12 issues respond well to dietary changes and, where needed, supplements. Genes may set the tendency, but in most families the fix is nutritional, not permanent.