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Born with Couch Potato Genes?
An anonymous reader writes "Science Daily is reporting on an experiment that suggests that an individual's activity level shows a genetic basis. From the article: 'Research conducted by scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University reveals that a person's level of activity is likely an intrinsic property of that individual. [...] Overall, these findings suggest that it is likely to take a significant conscious effort to change one's level of physical activity and override one's intrinsic inclination to be active or inactive. To state it more plainly, if you're a couch potato, suddenly becoming active may be harder than you think,'"
Source: Oregon Health & Science University
Born A Couch Potato? Each Persons' Activity Level Appears Intrinsic, Possibly Tied To Genetics
Research conducted by scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University reveals that a person's level of activity is likely an intrinsic property of that individual. This means personal decisions to become more active for the purpose of losing weight may take more of a conscious effort than traditionally thought for certain people. The research is being presented during the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C., Nov. 12-16. It is one of the largest and most respected meetings of neuroscientists in the world.
"Previous research has revealed that increased physical activity can decrease the risk of obesity, coronary heart disease, respiratory disease, metabolic diseases like diabetes, anxiety, depression, breast cancer and colon cancer," said Elinor Sullivan, an OHSU graduate student conducting research at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. "Based on the wealth of benefits provided by regular exercise, doctors have often recommended that patients increase their level of physical activity. However, currently the factors that regulate an individual's average daily activity level, and the brain systems involved in regulating activity are not well understood. It is likely that these factors affect how easy it is for individuals to substantially increase activity through voluntarily exercise, and whether some people can more easily increase their activity than others."
To better understand the factors that can impact activity levels, the ONPRC scientists studied 17 female rhesus macaque monkeys housed in single cages compared to 12 female monkeys group housed in large pens (12 ft x 12 ft x 14 ft). The monkeys housed in large pens had more opportunities to forage for food and move around, as well as more chances to interact socially. To accurately measure activity levels, both groups of monkeys wore activity monitors attached to loose-fitting collars.
Data from the monitors in both groups of monkeys revealed that within each group there was great variability in animals' activity levels. The most active animals showed an eight-fold greater activity level than the most sedentary monkeys. However, surprisingly, individual animals' activity levels did not correspond to the size of their living area. In fact, some monkeys living in single cages demonstrated higher activity levels than monkeys living in larger housing areas.
The monkeys in the single cages were further studied for a six-month period and they showed consistent levels of activity through out this time. Sedentary monkeys remained sedentary, and active animals remained active.
A follow-up study was performed with an additional 10 monkeys, which were housed in single cages and then moved to larger group housing. Again, a high degree of individual variability was found in activity level. However, activity level did not significantly change when monkeys were moved between types of housing. Sedentary monkeys remained sedentary even when they had a great deal of space to move around in and companions to interact with, while active monkeys remained active even when they were housed in a smaller space with limited interaction with other monkeys.
"Overall, these findings suggest that it is likely to take a significant conscious effort to change one's level of physical activity and override one's intrinsic inclination to be active or inactive. To state it more plainly, if you're a couch potato, suddenly becoming active may be harder than you think," said Judy Cameron, Ph.D., senior scientist in the divisions of Reproductive Sciences and Neuroscience at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center. "Our current findings build further on work we did last year showing that activity is more predictive of long-term changes in body weight than even diet. Wit
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