Re: Physical Fitness
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:28 pm
Kenyans sweep distance races, Jamaicans sprints: How evolution has shaped elite sports
This article names a couple genes:
But athletic performance goes way beyond just a couple genes:
LINK: https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/08/14/kenyans-sweep-distance-races-jamaicans-sprints-evolution-shaped-elite-sports/
This article names a couple genes:
The “speed gene” as it’s been dubbed, makes fast-twitch muscles twitch fast. Lacking the ACTN3 protein does not seem to have any harmful health effects but does affect running ability. Scientists conclude that it is almost impossible for someone who lacks the ACTN3 protein to become an elite sprinter. The so-called sprint gene is more common in those of West African descent than in Europeans, according to a study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Another gene, known as ACE, has been linked to endurance running.
But athletic performance goes way beyond just a couple genes:
Here are the facts. Dozens of studies have confirmed that genetically linked, highly heritable characteristics such as skeletal structure, the distribution of muscle fiber types (for example, sprinters have more natural fast-twitch fibers, while distance runners are naturally endowed with more of the slow-twitch variety), reflex capabilities, metabolic efficiency, and lung capacity are not evenly distributed among human populations.
LINK: https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/08/14/kenyans-sweep-distance-races-jamaicans-sprints-evolution-shaped-elite-sports/