According to researcher Claude Bouchard, “Some people are gifted,” referring to such characteristics as cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, flexibility, and body composition. Genetics play a big role in such matters, as they do in “trainability” - the capacity to benefit from exercise. “But, there’s no correspondence between the genes responsible for your being advantaged, even as a sedentary person, and those allowing you to gain from exercise” ” said Bouchard.
The study reviewed research published through December 2005 exploring genes and genetic markers linked to performance or fitness. “This compendium,” said Bouchard, “brings into a single source many studies published in a large number of journals around the world. We can begin to see trends and commonalities among the studies.” The first version of the fitness and performance gene map, published in 2001, listed only about one-fifth of the known gene locations mapped in the Bouchard team’s current work.
Such knowledge has benefits beyond its value as pure science. While the benefits of regular physical activity are well established, said Bouchard, “We’re beginning to see a new area emerge: studies focusing on the role of genetic differences in the inclination to be physically active. Recently, studies have investigated specific genes for their potential contribution to physical activity or the propensity to be sedentary. That’s new—that’s an important line of research.”
An understanding of the role genes play in the inclination to be physically active could make valuable contributions to efforts to improve fitness and health in the general population. “We haven’t been able to influence people’s behavior to change dramatically their level of physical activity or sedentarism,” said Bouchard. “Compared with the magnitude of the problem, we’ve made very small progress. I contend that there are biological forces that force us back into the same groove when we change from being sedentary to being more active. Those forces are partly determined by our genetic makeup. Thus, research into genetic factors underlying exercise and physical activity levels is a very worthwhile area to pursue from a public health perspective.”
Such research, advocates maintain, deserves more support. While studies of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease receive substantial funding, said Bouchard, relatively little attention is paid to the role of physical activity in maintaining health. He adds that “research should be driven by the need to understand the origin of these diseases taking into account the totality of the factors that may be involved, including genetics, in-utero maternal programming, smoking, nutrition and physical activity, among other factors.”
REFERENCE
Rankinen, Tuomo, Molly Bray, James Hagberg, Louis Pérusse, Stephen Roth, Bernd Wolfarth, Claude Bouchard. "The Human Gene Map for Performance and Health-Related Fitness Phenotypes" the 2005 Update." Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 38/11(2006): 1863-1888.
