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Review
. 2018 Apr;50(4):863-873.
doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001499.

Biological/Genetic Regulation of Physical Activity Level: Consensus from GenBioPAC

J Timothy Lightfoot  1   1 , Eco J C DE Geus  1   1 , Frank W Booth  1   1 , Molly S Bray  1   1 , Marcel DEN Hoed  1   1 , Jaakko Kaprio  1   1 , Scott A Kelly  1   1 , Daniel Pomp  1   1 , Michael C Saul  1   1 , Martine A Thomis  1   1 , Theodore Garland Jr  1   1 , Claude Bouchard  1   1
Affiliations
Review

Biological/Genetic Regulation of Physical Activity Level: Consensus from GenBioPAC

J Timothy Lightfoot et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: Physical activity unquestionably maintains and improves health; however, physical activity levels globally are low and not rising despite all the resources devoted to this goal. Attention in both the research literature and the public policy domain has focused on social-behavioral factors; however, a growing body of literature suggests that biological determinants play a significant role in regulating physical activity levels. For instance, physical activity level, measured in various manners, has a genetic component in both humans and nonhuman animal models. This consensus article, developed as a result of an American College of Sports Medicine-sponsored round table, provides a brief review of the theoretical concepts and existing literature that supports a significant role of genetic and other biological factors in the regulation of physical activity.

Conclusions: Future research on physical activity regulation should incorporate genetics and other biological determinants of physical activity instead of a sole reliance on social and other environmental determinants.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The results of the present study do not constitute endorsement by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Figures

Figure 1 –
Figure 1 –
Percentage of surveyed BRFSS adults with 30+ minutes of physical activity five or more days/week (1996–2000) OR percentage with 30+ minutes of physical activity or 20+ minutes of vigorous activity five or more days/week.
Figure 2 -
Figure 2 -
Conceptual model for the main physiological systems involved in physical activity and its regulation. 1) The brain is the behavioral control center integrating pre-set information from the activity-stat (see text) with ongoing motivational state. 2) Duration and intensity of physical activity will depend on cardiorespiratory fitness, partly by viscerosomatic signals (e.g. becoming out of breath) that affect motivational state. 3) Muscle is the mechanism of action (effector) and performance capability of this unit, as well as the cardiorespiratory system, is necessary but not sufficient for physical activity. Effects of biological, including genetic/genomic and environmental factors, with many interactive effects, will determine individual differences in the functioning of these physiological systems and hence the level of physical of physical activity.
Figure 3 -
Figure 3 -
Research directions to further unravel the biological regulation of physical activity level. The three major sources of individual differences in physical activity level are genetic variants, environmental influences, and their interplay. Strategies to understand the biology of physical activity regulation and the contribution of genetic and environmental factors are numbered 1 to 9. Studies of humans and of animal models play complementary roles. The ultimate goal is to identify safe and effective environmental and/or pharmacological interventions that can increase the level of physical activity.
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References

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