

Regularly opting for vigorous activity specifically won’t change your genes-but it can have a significant effect on how those genes operate.The Microsoft Network was initially a subscription-based dial-up online service that later became an Internet service provider named MSN Dial-up. The takeaway? Even if you have metabolic disease running in your family, you can lower your risk of developing a condition like heart disease or type 2 diabetes by focusing on lifestyle behaviors that boost your epigenetic power. Skinner said the research found both moderate and vigorous physical activity impacted epigenetics but the vigorous activity had a more dramatic and significant effect. For example, the body may change where fat is stored, or how blood pressure is regulated. The result is improved cellular function, he added. So, when a person exercises, they change their epigenetics and that changes their gene expression.” “We could see that environmental impacts, like physical activity, act on the individual to change cellular function through epigenetics. “Since twins were used, this removed the genetic variable,” said Skinner. This means they have lower risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition that can lead to stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Those in the twin pairs who were more active had lower signs of metabolic disease, such as excess body fat around the waist, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and elevated blood pressure. That’s especially true because many of the twin pairs had different amounts of regular physical activity compared to one another. Because these twins had the same genetics and environmental factors growing up, it was easier to determine how exercise played a role in health risks, all the way down to a molecular level. New research in the journal Scientific Reports looked at how exercise affected 70 pairs of identical twins over a seven-year period.

The researchers looked at both moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity and while both improved cellular function, vigorous exercise did so more significantly.īecause exercise can have profoundly different effects from one individual to another, it’s tricky to generalize benefits-unless you’ve recruited identical twins for your study, that is.A study published in Scientific Reports, involving 70 pairs of twins, found that while exercise can’t change your DNA or genetic risk for disease, it can alter how your body reads a DNA sequence, helping to lower your risk for chronic conditions like metabolic disease-even if it runs in the family.
