Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studies
Context: The importance of physical activity to paediatric health warrants investigation into its determinants. Objective measurement allows a robust examination of genetic and environmental influences on physical activity. Objective: To systematically review the evidence on the extent of genetic an...
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doaj-3aa091749fa74345b9f15e09c6fbc9cb2020-11-25T00:43:24ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552015-01-012C54855310.1016/j.pmedr.2015.06.011Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studiesAbigail FisherLee SmithCornelia H.M. van JaarsveldAlexia SawyerJane WardleContext: The importance of physical activity to paediatric health warrants investigation into its determinants. Objective measurement allows a robust examination of genetic and environmental influences on physical activity. Objective: To systematically review the evidence on the extent of genetic and environmental influence on children's objectively-measured activity levels from twin studies. Data sources and search terms: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Health and Psychosocial Instruments and all Ovid Databases. Search terms: “accelerometer” OR “actometer” OR “motion sensor” OR “heart rate monitor” OR “physical activity energy expenditure” AND “twin”. Limited to Human, English language and children (0–18 years). Results: Seven sets of analyses were included in the review. Six analyses examined children's daily-life activity and found that the shared environment had a strong influence on activity levels (weighted mean 60%), with a smaller contribution from genetic factors (weighted mean 21%). Two analyses examined short-term, self-directed activity in a standard environment and found a smaller shared environment effect (weighted mean 25%) and a larger genetic estimate (weighted mean 45%). Conclusions: Although genetic influences may be expressed when children have brief opportunities for autonomous activity, activity levels in daily-life are predominantly explained by environmental factors. Future research should aim to identify key environmental drivers of childhood activity.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335515000832TwinChildActivityGeneticEnvironment |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Abigail Fisher Lee Smith Cornelia H.M. van Jaarsveld Alexia Sawyer Jane Wardle |
spellingShingle |
Abigail Fisher Lee Smith Cornelia H.M. van Jaarsveld Alexia Sawyer Jane Wardle Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studies Preventive Medicine Reports Twin Child Activity Genetic Environment |
author_facet |
Abigail Fisher Lee Smith Cornelia H.M. van Jaarsveld Alexia Sawyer Jane Wardle |
author_sort |
Abigail Fisher |
title |
Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studies |
title_short |
Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studies |
title_full |
Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studies |
title_fullStr |
Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studies |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studies |
title_sort |
are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? a systematic review of twin studies |
publisher |
Elsevier |
series |
Preventive Medicine Reports |
issn |
2211-3355 |
publishDate |
2015-01-01 |
description |
Context: The importance of physical activity to paediatric health warrants investigation into its determinants. Objective measurement allows a robust examination of genetic and environmental influences on physical activity.
Objective: To systematically review the evidence on the extent of genetic and environmental influence on children's objectively-measured activity levels from twin studies.
Data sources and search terms: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Health and Psychosocial Instruments and all Ovid Databases. Search terms: “accelerometer” OR “actometer” OR “motion sensor” OR “heart rate monitor” OR “physical activity energy expenditure” AND “twin”. Limited to Human, English language and children (0–18 years).
Results: Seven sets of analyses were included in the review. Six analyses examined children's daily-life activity and found that the shared environment had a strong influence on activity levels (weighted mean 60%), with a smaller contribution from genetic factors (weighted mean 21%). Two analyses examined short-term, self-directed activity in a standard environment and found a smaller shared environment effect (weighted mean 25%) and a larger genetic estimate (weighted mean 45%).
Conclusions: Although genetic influences may be expressed when children have brief opportunities for autonomous activity, activity levels in daily-life are predominantly explained by environmental factors. Future research should aim to identify key environmental drivers of childhood activity. |
topic |
Twin Child Activity Genetic Environment |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335515000832 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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