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Published on: July 27, 2022
Environmental influences on children's physical activity: quantitative estimates using a twin design
Abigail Fisher1, Cornelia H M van Jaarsveld, Clare H Llewellyn
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|April 28, 2010
Summary
The shared environment significantly influences children's daily physical activity levels, while genetics primarily affects fidgetiness and enjoyment of activity. Interventions targeting home and school environments are recommended.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Genetics
- Pediatric Health
- Physical Activity Research
Background:
- Twin studies serve as natural experiments to disentangle genetic and environmental influences on phenotypes.
- Previous hypotheses suggested heritability for fidgetiness and activity enjoyment, with shared environment impacting objectively measured daily activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genetic and environmental contributions to objectively measured physical activity, fidgetiness, and enjoyment of physical activity in children.
- To test the hypothesis that fidgetiness and activity enjoyment are heritable, while daily activity is influenced by shared environment.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a sample of 9-12 year-old same-sex twin pairs (234 individuals).
- Assessed physical activity through accelerometry (objective measure), a psychometric scale for fidgetiness, and parent/child reports for activity enjoyment.
- Analyzed variance components to estimate genetic and environmental effects.
Main Results:
- Shared environment explained 73% of variance in objectively-measured physical activity, with no significant genetic effect.
- Fidgetiness (75%) and enjoyment of various activity types (60-85%) were primarily influenced by additive genetic effects.
- Unshared environmental effects accounted for 27% of variance in objectively-measured physical activity.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the hypothesis that shared environmental factors are the primary drivers of children's daily physical activity levels.
- Emphasizes the need for research into specific environmental characteristics affecting children's activity.
- Highlights the potential effectiveness of interventions focused on home and school environments to promote physical activity.
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