Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design.
Twin studies offer a 'natural experiment' that can estimate the magnitude of environmental and genetic effects on a target phenotype. We hypothesised that fidgetiness and enjoyment of activity would be heritable but that objectively-measured daily activity would show a strong shared enviro...
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doaj-944dc81aa4504c3da4546d16cd60a5ba2020-11-25T01:46:37ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032010-04-0154e1011010.1371/journal.pone.0010110Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design.Abigail FisherCornelia H M van JaarsveldClare H LlewellynJane WardleTwin studies offer a 'natural experiment' that can estimate the magnitude of environmental and genetic effects on a target phenotype. We hypothesised that fidgetiness and enjoyment of activity would be heritable but that objectively-measured daily activity would show a strong shared environmental effect.In a sample of 9-12 year-old same-sex twin pairs (234 individuals; 57 MZ, 60 DZ pairs) we assessed three dimensions of physical activity: i) objectively-measured physical activity using accelerometry, ii) 'fidgetiness' using a standard psychometric scale, and iii) enjoyment of physical activity from both parent ratings and children's self-reports. Shared environment effects explained the majority (73%) of the variance in objectively-measured total physical activity (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.63-0.81) with a smaller unshared environmental effect (27%; CI: 0.19-0.37) and no significant genetic effect. In contrast, fidgetiness was primarily under genetic control, with additive genetic effects explaining 75% (CI: 62-84%) of the variance, as was parent's report of children's enjoyment of low 74% (CI: 61-82%), medium 80% (CI: 71-86%), and high impact activity (85%; CI: 78-90%), and children's expressed activity preferences (60%, CI: 42-72%).Consistent with our hypothesis, the shared environment was the dominant influence on children's day-to-day activity levels. This finding gives a strong impetus to research into the specific environmental characteristics influencing children's activity, and supports the value of interventions focused on home or school environments.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2858042?pdf=render |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Abigail Fisher Cornelia H M van Jaarsveld Clare H Llewellyn Jane Wardle |
spellingShingle |
Abigail Fisher Cornelia H M van Jaarsveld Clare H Llewellyn Jane Wardle Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design. PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Abigail Fisher Cornelia H M van Jaarsveld Clare H Llewellyn Jane Wardle |
author_sort |
Abigail Fisher |
title |
Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design. |
title_short |
Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design. |
title_full |
Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design. |
title_fullStr |
Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design. |
title_sort |
environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2010-04-01 |
description |
Twin studies offer a 'natural experiment' that can estimate the magnitude of environmental and genetic effects on a target phenotype. We hypothesised that fidgetiness and enjoyment of activity would be heritable but that objectively-measured daily activity would show a strong shared environmental effect.In a sample of 9-12 year-old same-sex twin pairs (234 individuals; 57 MZ, 60 DZ pairs) we assessed three dimensions of physical activity: i) objectively-measured physical activity using accelerometry, ii) 'fidgetiness' using a standard psychometric scale, and iii) enjoyment of physical activity from both parent ratings and children's self-reports. Shared environment effects explained the majority (73%) of the variance in objectively-measured total physical activity (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.63-0.81) with a smaller unshared environmental effect (27%; CI: 0.19-0.37) and no significant genetic effect. In contrast, fidgetiness was primarily under genetic control, with additive genetic effects explaining 75% (CI: 62-84%) of the variance, as was parent's report of children's enjoyment of low 74% (CI: 61-82%), medium 80% (CI: 71-86%), and high impact activity (85%; CI: 78-90%), and children's expressed activity preferences (60%, CI: 42-72%).Consistent with our hypothesis, the shared environment was the dominant influence on children's day-to-day activity levels. This finding gives a strong impetus to research into the specific environmental characteristics influencing children's activity, and supports the value of interventions focused on home or school environments. |
url |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2858042?pdf=render |
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