Sunday, April 12, 2015

Genetically Identical Twins Versus Exercise

In a fascinating new study researchers in Finland have begun to show how exercising shapes our health. In this study they have taken two identical twin who have identical genes and nurturing. These twins have played the same sports and other physical activities but have developed different exercises habits. The researchers then proceeded to mapped out how this difference in exercise has effected their bodies and brains. In order to determine the long term effect of exercise and how it directly causes a change in a person's body, researchers must preform a large scale experiment. There will be controlled trials where half  of the control group will exercise and the other half will not.

Genes play a role in exercise. Genes can affect our endurance level, how well we respond to different types of vigorous activities, and they even control whether we enjoy working out. Along with genes the person upbringing influences their exercise habits. In this study it is pertinent to have identical twins because their DNA are the same. If the twins were brought up within the same upbringing it makes them even more important to the experiment. In past studies, the one twin that had stopped their workout routine over the years tend to age differently, was at greater risk for poor health, and died early than the twin that kept up with his workout habits.

 In more recent studies these researchers have focused on younger twins. When the genetically identical twins were studied it showed they were very medically different . The one twin who had stopped exercising had low endurance levels, higher body fat percentage, and a metabolic problem. Even though the twins ate similar foods their diet contributed very little to the health differences. When looking at the twin brain the active twin had more gray matter where the motor control and coordination is than the sedentary twin. This study shows that working out and exercise is important and can contribute to a longer and healthier life. The researchers have shown that exercise is a crucial part of living life to it full extent.

3 comments:

  1. This is a cool article, it would be interesting to also see how the two different upbringings affect their ability to exercise, I know that motivation is a big part of my exercise habits, it'd be interesting to see how that would affect them.

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  2. I never thought about how much genetics could impact exercise. I grew up with parents that were always pushing and motivating me to be healthy and play sports. I find it very interesting that half of the participants agreed to no longer exercise because it is something kids are taught to do at a young age and once the habit is broken it is hard to get back into. I think it would be interesting to see what they did after the study was over, did they attempt to begin an exercise program or did they just stick to what they had been doing.

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  3. Its interesting to see how much exercise can affect a person, even at a young age. I can see how non-exercise would affect someone as they are older, but i didn't think it would have as much as an affect on a younger child.

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