A transdisciplinary model integrating genetic, physiological, and psychological correlates of voluntary exercise

Physical inactivity contributes to as many as 250,000 premature deaths per year (R. R. Pate et al., 1995). The authors' objective was to test a transdisciplinary model of the ways in which genetic variants, physiological factors, and psychological factors are thought to influence exercise with 64 healthy, regular exercisers.

In a within-subjects design, psychological and physiological responses to exercise were compared with responses to a sedentary activity.

The authors measured affective state, perceived exertion, heart rate, and temperature change in response to moderate exercise versus sedentary activity. They also quantified genotypes on a single nucleotide polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene.

The data show a relation between increases in positive affective states and acute exercise behavior, as opposed to a sedentary control. The BDNF gene moderated the effect of exercise on mood, heart rate, and perceived exertion. Physiological factors were, in turn, related to mood response, and mood response was a significant correlate of motivation to exercise in the future and of current exercise behavior. The model has potential as a framework for the basic study of the genetic, physiological, and psychological processes involved with voluntary exercise and as a tool for the applied examination of tailored exercise interventions and their efficacy for different subsets of individuals.