Sibling Resemblance in Physical Activity Levels: The Peruvian Sibling Study on Growth and Health

Carla Santos (), José Maia, Sara Pereira, Olga Vasconcelos, Rui Garganta, J. Timothy Lightfoot, Go Tani, Donald Hedeker, Peter T. Katzmarzyk and Alcibíades Bustamante
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Carla Santos: Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
José Maia: Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Sara Pereira: Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Olga Vasconcelos: Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Rui Garganta: Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
J. Timothy Lightfoot: Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
Go Tani: Motor Behavior Laboratory, School of Physical Education and Sports, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-030, Brazil
Donald Hedeker: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Peter T. Katzmarzyk: Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
Alcibíades Bustamante: School of Physical Education and Sports, National University of Education Enrique Guzmán y Valle, 60637 La Cantuta, Lurigancho-Chosica 15472, Peru

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-9

Abstract: Physical activity is associated with a host of positive health outcomes and is shaped by both genetic and environmental factors. We aim to: (1) estimate sibling resemblance in two physical activity phenotypes [total number of steps∙day −1 and minutes for moderate steps per day (min∙day −1 )]; and (2) investigate the joint associations of individual characteristics and shared natural environment with intra-pair sibling similarities in each phenotype. We sampled 247 biological siblings from 110 nuclear families, aged 6–17 years, from three Peruvian regions. Physical activity was measured using pedometers and body mass index was calculated. In general, non-significant variations in the intraclass correlation coefficients were found after adjustment for individual characteristics and geographical area for both phenotypes. Further, no significant differences were found between the three sib-ship types. Sister-sister pairs tended to take fewer steps than brother-brother ( β = −2908.75 ± 954.31). Older siblings tended to walk fewer steps ( β = −81.26 ± 19.83), whereas body mass index was not associated with physical activity. Siblings living at high-altitude and in the Amazon region had higher steps/day ( β = 2508.92 ± 737.94; β = 2213.11 ± 776.63, respectively) compared with their peers living at sea-level. In general, we found no influence of sib-types, body mass index, and/or environment on the two physical activity phenotypes.

Keywords: physical activity; siblings; shared factors; multilevel modelling; Peru (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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