The Beneficial Effects of Physical Activity: Is It Down to Your Genes? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Twin and Family Studies

Zadro, J. R.; Shirley, D.; Andrade, T. B.; Scurrah, K. J; Bauman, A.; Ferreira, P. H.

doi:10.1186/s40798-016-0073-9

Sports Medicine - Open

Table 2 Characteristics of twin studies

From: The Beneficial Effects of Physical Activity: Is It Down to Your Genes? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Twin and Family Studies

Twin studies
Author (year)	Sample^*	Age [mean (SD)]	Baseline physical activity status	Physical activity intervention	Diet intervention
Poehlam A (1987)	6 MZ male twin pairs	19 (1.3)	Sedentary	F: 22 consecutive days I: 56% VO2 max T: 116 min per day T: Cycle ergometer	Energy balance deficit of ~4.2 MJ/day
Koenigstorfer J (2011)	6 MZ females twin pairs	30 (8)	Sedentary	F: 3 times per week (aerobic) and 2 times per week (strength) for 8 weeks I: 68% (±8%) heart rate maximum (aerobic) and 70% of 12 repetition maximum (12RM) T: 45 min each T: Cycle ergometer and strength training (crunches, butterfly crunches, leg press, leg curl, and latissimus pull down)	Individual counseling for a low fat (25%), hypocaloric diet (5.0–5.8 MJ/day) in accordance with their usual eating patterns and preferences
Hopkins ND (2012)	6 MZ (1 male and 5 female) and 6 DZ (2 male and 4 female) twin pairs	MZ: 13.5 (0.8) DZ: 13.4 (0.8)	Light and moderate physical activity	F: 3 times per week for 8 weeks I: 65–85% heart rate maximum T: 45 min T: gym-based aerobic exercise	None
Bouchard C (1994)	7 MZ male twin pairs^a	21.0 (2.7)	Sedentary	F: Twice per day every 9 of 10 days for 93 days I: 50–55%VO₂ max T: 60 min T: Cycle ergometer	Energy balance deficit of ~4.2 MJ/day
Hainer V (2000)	14 MZ female twin pairs	39 (1.7)	Sedentary	F: Daily for 28 days I: 60%VO2 max T: 20 min T: cycle ergometer aerobic exercises Additional exercise: 4 km walk and 30 min of aerobic exercise	Hypocaloric diet of 1.6 MJ/day
Hamel P (1986)	6 MZ twin pairs (3 male and 3 female)	21.2 (3.7)	Not reported	F: 3–5 times per week for 15 weeks I: 60–85% heart rate reserve T: 30–45 min T: Cycle ergometer	None
Prud’Homme D (1984)	10 MZ twin pairs (4 male and 6 female)	20.0 (2.9)	None highly trained but some participated in recreational activities	F: 4–5 times per week for 20 weeks I: 60–85% heart rate reserve T: 40–45 min T: Cycle ergometer	None
Afman G (1988)	19 MZ (3 male and 16 female) and 9 DZ (3 male and 6 female) twin pairs^b	MZ: 18.9 (1.4) DZ: 19.4 (1.8)	Not reported	F: 4 times per week for 11 weeks I: 70–85 heart rate maximum T: 15–45 min T: cycle ergometer and treadmill running	None
Danis A (2003)	9 MZ male twin pairs	11–14**	Not participating in sporting activities	F: 3 times per week for 6 months I: 75–97% VO2 max T: 60–90 min T: treadmill running	None

MZ monozygotic, DZ dizygotic, MJ mega joules, SD standard deviation, FITT frequency, intensity, time, type
*Twin pairs were generally living together at the time of enrollment, except those in Koenigstorfer J [20] and Hainer V (2000) [28]. Afman G [29] reported that more than 50% of the twin pairs were living together at the time of enrollment
**Did not report a mean age (SD)
^a11 MZ twin pairs were initially enrolled but only seven MZ twin pairs completed the exercise protocol (the definition of ‘completing the exercise protocol’ was not outlined)
^b34 twin pairs (MZ and DZ) were initially enrolled but only 28 twin pairs (MZ and DZ) completed the protocol (defined as attending 75% or more of the exercise sessions, and having fewer than eight sessions where one twin participated and the co-twin did not)

Back to article page