Genetic Predictors of Exercise Training Response

TLDR: These studies strongly suggest that genomic markers can be used to identify high- and low-responders to regular exercise, but additional research is needed to confirm these findings, to maximize the predictive power of genomic markers in all ethnic groups, and to develop strategies on how to deal with low- and non- responders before predictive genomic markers are ready for clinical use.

Abstract: Both observational studies and randomized, controlled interventions have shown that regular physical activity provides several health benefits. Although exercise programs improve risk factor profiles on average, a substantial body of evidence indicates that there are considerable inter-individual differences in response to these programs. Ability to predict who will be a high- or low-responder to exercise would be desirable from a physiologic and clinical perspective. The first exercise training studies utilizing objective genome-wide screening methods were published in 2010, and both reports identified a group of genes and DNA sequence variants that explained a considerable portion of variance in VO2max training response. These studies strongly suggest that genomic markers can be used to identify high- and low-responders to regular exercise. However, additional research is needed to confirm these findings, to maximize the predictive power of genomic markers in all ethnic groups, and to develop strategies on how to deal with low- and non-responders before predictive genomic markers are ready for clinical use.