Genetic mutations from a recumbent lifestyle

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Dutch geneticists have identified over a hundred different small mutations in human DNA associated with an increased tendency to sedentary and recumbent lifestyles, including watching television. Their findings were published in an article in the British scientific journal Nature Communications.

"Our observations and genetic analysis once again confirm that the propensity to constantly watch TV significantly increases the likelihood of developing cardiac problems. Interestingly, we did not find such an addiction among people who spent a lot of time at the computer or driving a car," the scientists write.

In recent years, geneticists have discovered hundreds of small variations in DNA that affect not only the development of severe genetic diseases, height and weight, the level of intelligence and other inalienable characteristics of a person, but also his character. These included regions of the genome, variations in which affect tenacity, predisposition to risky business decisions, alcoholism, the time of starting a family, and even the propensity to own a dog.

As a rule, individual variations in such segments of DNA have very little effect on the behavior of each individual, which is why scientists study and discover them using large-scale genomic databases, in the creation of which hundreds of thousands of volunteers usually take part.

A group of geneticists led by Pim van der Harst, a professor at the University of Groningen (Netherlands), used one of the largest projects of its kind, UK Biobank, to search for gene variations associated with predisposition to different forms of sedentary life.

TV and genes

It was attended by over 400 thousand UK residents who donated their DNA for analysis and underwent a comprehensive physical examination, as well as a number of social surveys, in which they agreed to talk about their habits and physical activity. Dutch researchers used this information to test whether a sedentary lifestyle actually increases the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease.

To do this, scientists tried to find in the genomes of UK Biobank participants sets of small mutations that influenced a person's tendency to a sedentary or recumbent lifestyle, as well as to their certain manifestations. They compared these data with the results of classical statistical studies linking cardiac problems with low levels of physical activity.

After analyzing over 19 million small differences in the design of genes, biologists have identified 193 variations in 169 DNA regions that influenced the predisposition to a sedentary lifestyle. Most of them, over 150 mutations, were associated with watching television, and the rest of the gene versions were associated with sitting at a computer or driving a car. All of them were associated with the work of the nervous system and the transmission of signals between neurons.

Subsequent analysis of these variations in the genome confirmed that excessive TV addiction did increase the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease. According to scientists, every extra hour and a half of watching TV increased the likelihood of developing it by 42%, regardless of whether this desire was due to the influence of genes or social factors.

At the same time, such a dependence was not traced in the case of working at a computer and driving a car, the reasons for which are not yet clear. According to geneticists, this may be due to the fact that drivers and PC users are much less likely to sit still for a long time and not so often eat high-calorie and junk food.