Certain genetic traits influence how much and how often a person wants to exercise

Apr 9, 2013 06:34 GMT  ·  By

Following their carrying out several experiments on rats, a team of researchers working with the University of Missouri has concluded that some people become couch potatoes not because of the external influences they receive, but because of inherited genetic traits.

Not to beat about the bush, what these scientists are trying to say is that, in the case of some people, the underlying cause of laziness is genetics.

The experiments that led to the researchers' concluding that certain genetic traits have to be held accountable for the fact that some adults simply do not exercise as much and as often as they should basically come down to breeding rats in a controlled manner.

According to the official website for the University of Missouri, some of the rats born as part of this series of experiments were lazy in the extreme, whereas others were surprisingly active.

Eventually, a breed of so-called super runners and a breed of so-called couch potatoes were obtained, and their genetic and anatomical make-up was carefully analyzed by the researchers.

“While we found minor differences in the body composition and levels of mitochondria in muscle cells of the rats, the most important thing we identified were the genetic differences between the two lines of rats,” reasearcher Michael Roberts said.

“Out of more than 17,000 different genes in one part of the brain, we identified 36 genes that may play a role in predisposition to physical activity motivation,” he further argued.

By the looks of it, these genetic differences between the two breeds of mice were the ones responsible for the fact that the super runners were ready and willing to run up to ten times more than the couch potatoes.

The researchers who carried out these experiments hope that their findings might shed new light on the causes of the United States' ongoing crisis.

More so given the fact that, according to several reports, 97% of all Americans fail to exercise for at least 30 minutes on a daily basis.

“This could be an important step in identifying additional causes for obesity in humans, especially considering dramatic increases in childhood obesity in the United States.”

“It would be very useful to know if a person is genetically predisposed to having a lack of motivation to exercise, because that could potentially make them more likely to grow obese,” Frank Booth argued.