The question is, what does that mean? To say there's some sort of heritable component to a trait tells us something can be passed on in a family that can contribute to performance, but what are the specific genes? How important, how predictive are those genes? We have no idea what is going on when it comes down to it. Some people are just genetically gifted, but we have just scratched the surface in defining what we mean by genetic advantage.
How many genes play a role in sports talent?
We don't know. I'm a co-author on a review published every few years where we catalog genes that have been studied in relation to performance. There are 200 genes we are cataloging as having some positive association with fitness-related performance … and there are 20,000 genes in the genome, so we're scratching the surface in relation to those studied.
Are those genetic factors just related to muscle strength, or do they show a variety of factors that are related to athleticism?
A wide range of factors. Because sports performance is so complex, we find muscle strength measures to metabolism performance measures or cardiovascular performance measures.
Atlas Sports Genetics is marketing tests for variants of the ACTN3 gene. Are there tests that pick up whether a person has other fitness-related genes?
ACTN3 is probably the most convincing of the genes studied so far, the most consistently associated [with sports-related fitness]. People who are the XX genotype do not have alfa-actinin-3 in their muscles. The idea is that in people who are lacking this protein, their muscles won't work as well and that will prevent them from reaching the upper echelon of power performance. That’s been indicated in a number of studies. But is the association about muscle fatigue? Contractile strength? As research starts to delve into these more refined traits, we don’t feel confident saying how the XX genotype is contributing to performance.
Another gene is ACE, which has been studied in relation to endurance performance. But the more these genes are studied, the messier the literature becomes. ACE is the most studied and is still a gene of interest, but we're trying to figure out if it's important and how — and the same question is reflected in ACTN3, but not reflected in ads for the test.
The ACE studies are more conflicting. It was originally argued that people with the II variant would be better at endurance and those with the DD variant would be better at strength. But the findings are not as consistent. When you break it down, we don’t see a clear story for how it would be working. If it does have a role, it’s a much smaller role than originally thought. There are larger question marks around ACE that would make it harder to sell as a test.
What can the results of the ACTN3 test tell us?
The results do tell you whether you have this protein in your muscle. That is clear. We have no idea if it contributes to performing at anything but an elite level. Even there, there are contradictions. We have very little information that it affects kids' performance. You may have a disadvantage in sprint performance, but it's likely you'll never see it except at an Olympic level. What 6- or 8-year-old cares about that?
Besides genetic testing, is DNA being used in other ways to promote athleticism?
The major issues out there are gene screening and whether we can predict performance or somehow tailor workout or training programs to particular people or select the sports they participate in in advance. The other is whether we can alter a genetic profile to enhance their performance. It's very similar to gene therapy in medicine. It hasn’t been successful in medicine and never studied in sports performance. It’s a real ethical dark zone, because there are medical concerns even pursuing it and no evidence that it would really work. Anti-doping societies have come out against it. It is definitely a concern. Technology is being developed in the medical arena. It won't take long for someone to push it in the sports world.
(This article was updated on Dec. 3 at 1:35 p.m. to correct that Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise is a journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, not part of the Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.)
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Add CommentWhat will they think of next? When it comes to extracting money from worried parents, theres no shortage of business models. Now the so-called sports gene test for only $149 is finding a market for one reason only: because we parents are under so much pressure these days to make sure our kids succeed. Thats because kids are facing competition everywhere they turn in school, in sports, in music, you name it. One girl I know even had to compete to get into her schools community service program!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAll this hyper-competition makes us parents feel like our kids must be the best if theyre going to survive in a dog-eat-dog world. Our evolutionary hardwiring which arose when it was essential for parents to push their kids to compete for food and to stay away from predators reacts to the competition in our childrens world by turning on our fight or flight anxiety. It makes us feel that we have to do whatever we can to help our kids compete and win.
Enter the entrepreneurs willing to help us do that! Enter our criticism of parents for taking that bait. And yet. Lets tease out exactly why we criticize them. Because isnt it perfectly understandable that we want our kids to achieve? Sure. But the problem is that schemes like genetic testing put pressure on the kids to excel. And such pressure backfires. What makes children excel in sports is their love of the game which comes from the fun of playing, the feelings of camaraderie, the pride from acquiring new skills. Their passion motivates them to practice and eventually excel. But pressure from without from anyone, for example, expecting them to live up to the promise of a so-called sports gene is a good way to kill that passion.
Caveat emptor.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a new trick to making fool to people.First Iam doubtful about gene can effect all about your life. If gene decide every thing what about intelligent , our passion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think idea about gene`s superiority born from eugenics movement which is deep rooted in western culture.
This is a new trick to making fool to people.First Iam doubtful about gene can effect all about your life. If gene decide every thing what about intelligent , our passion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think idea about gene`s superiority born from eugenics movement which is deep rooted in western culture.
This is a new trick to making fool to people.First Iam doubtful about gene can effect all about your life. If gene decide every thing what about intelligent , our passion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think idea about gene`s superiority born from eugenics movement which is deep rooted in western culture.
This is a new trick to making fool to people.First Iam doubtful about gene can effect all about your life. If gene decide every thing what about intelligent , our passion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think idea about gene`s superiority born from eugenics movement which is deep rooted in western culture.
This is a new trick to making fool to people.First Iam doubtful about gene can effect all about your life. If gene decide every thing what about intelligent , our passion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think idea about gene`s superiority born from eugenics movement which is deep rooted in western culture.