Twin Limiting Factors

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Exercise and health benefits derived from exercise have long been established. Genetic contribution to exercise performance and aerobic health and fitness have also been confirmed. But is genetics really the limiting factor? Studies on twins show otherwise. The research article and popular press article on twins and their exercise habits show that when one of the twins exercises, that twin is overall healthier and has significant differences in body and brain composition compared to the less active twin. This leaves the implication that their genetics and childhood environment can be overcome by lifestyle changes after leaving the childhood home. However, this information is presented differently between the research article and the popular press article, leaving readers and healthcare workers with different ideas on this new information. First, the active twins had lower body fat, higher cardiorespiratory health, and more grey matter according to the research (Rottensteiner et al, ACSM, 2015). However, during the discussion, most of the focus is on the fact …show more content…
Where the research article is humble in its presentation of knowledge, the press article is grandiose to where it reads as if this was the first time anyone has ever known of exercise changing body composition. While the twin study is new and unique with the younger twins, the popular press article ends with an admonition that seems to say if a Finnish twin can work-out and look better than the other twin, we can work-out and look better too. The ending also includes a quote by Dr. Kujala (who oversaw the study, according to the article) directly saying “we can ‘move more’”. The popular press article reads more like a type of extrinsic motivation trying to persuade the reader to exercise, simply because research says to. This theme, however, has already been well