One of the current topics related to exercise and sport psychology is the claim that some athletes have advantages in sports for the reason that they carry an extra gene. Such and other sentiments have prompted sports scientists to look at the issue through genetic analysis. In their research, the engage in isolation of particular genes thought to influence athletic capabilities and do a comparison of the same gene in their study groups comprising of both athletes and those who are not athletes. Nonetheless, due to the complexity of human genes, isolating a single gene may prove to have a minute effect that could go undetected in studies with small sample sizes. With this fact, scientists have taken a bigger approach at the analysis of the functioning of genetic instructions through innovative and detailed approaches of steering the research. Moreover, other researchers such as exercise scientists, physiologists and biologists have joined the efforts of discerning the effects of genes in conjunction with training towards enhancing athleticism.
In view of understanding the effects of genes on athleticism, Epstein, (2013) took a research in touch with champions and animals that have mutations in genes or physical traits that could have a hand at boosting their athleticism. From his point of view, it is possible that some athletic characteristics such as the will to exercise and train could have a genetic basis while other characteristics such as athletic reactions might not have a genetic basis. In unraveling the mystery, Epstein, (2013) points out the arguments by sports psychologists regarding the improvements of world records over the last century. The records were broken in so fast a pace that evolution could not have been responsible for enhancing athleticism. Moreover, significant genetic alterations could not be the reason for such progress in athleticism. Following the elimination of these factors, it became imminent that practice and training have a bearing on the growth of top performers. The athletes have taken up rigorous training with the motivation that comes from the increased rewards of athletic achievements.
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Research also brings to light the effect of ‘winner takes all’ in motivating improvements in athletic performance. With more rewards and global recognition, athletes have taken their training a notch higher, thus improving their precision in sports. Progressively, changes have occurred in the gene pool of athletes as a result of the lucrative spots in elite sports competition. In emphasizing the point further, Epstein, (2013) looks at the findings of Tim Olds and Kevin Norton, who compiled data on the bodies of athletes across the twentieth century. Previously, a perfect man type of mentality prevailed in the sports world as depicted in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. Notably, the perfect man had to have “most well-rounded, or average physical builds”. The perception implicated that the perfect body would suit all kinds of sports competition and thus coaches used it as the criterion for selecting their teams.
However, due to the emergence of the “winner-take-all markets”, the perfect body of an athlete faded and gave way to specialized bodies for each category of sports competition. As a result, athletes became progressively dissimilar as each tuned their body to suit their sport of choice ( Perbal, 2013) . The dimensions of height and weight have tremendously changed across various sports where the body of a short putter seems totally different from that of a high jumper. After plotting the graph of athletic bodies since 1925, Olds and Norton established the “big bang of body types” with the interpretation that just as galaxies are dissimilar, so are athletic bodies needed to be for success in their choice sport (Andrew &Thomas, 2012). Some of the controversial issues surrounding the claim of the existence of the sports gene are the multifactorial factors that influence performance. In fact, before a sports gene can be deemed to exist, studies of the influence of genetic factors must be taken into consideration of the most appropriate components that determine performance in the sport of concern. Moreover, it is necessary to consider the interactions among body systems in enhancing athletic performance. Nonetheless, it seems that some body types have competitive advantage that naturally suits them to particular sports competition.
Features of significant consideration include; power, Endurance, and strength as well as the body morphology. In looking at endurance of aerobic nature, athletes with ability to withstand aerobic exertion for long periods of time perform best in cycling and distance running. Basically, aerobic endurance necessitates profound function in delivery of oxygen by the cardiovascular system to the engaged muscles as well as the oxygen utilization ability by the muscles ( Gillett & Tamatea, 2012) . On the other hand, muscle strength deals with generation of force by the muscles. It is a critical aspect for athletes engaging in weight lifting, sprinting and jumping competitions. Other aspects that boost athletic performance include low susceptibility to injury and cognitive aspects. For all these traits, the controversy is that there is a gene at play in determining their expression.
The explanation is that with increased strictness in the sport, the individuals lacking the desired traits get eliminated from the competition leaving the best-fitted ones. Similarly, the bone composition of the water polo players has changed where the lower arms have become longer than the rest of the arm in comparison to non-athletes (Guth & Roth, 2013). The same case applies for other sports such as Kayaking and Canoe competitions. On the contrary, individuals participating in weightlifting competition display shorter forearms than the rest of the population to enable them to lift more weight. These fetes arise from biological changes that come with the demands of the sport. Other biological changes seen in athletes include the skeletal structure and pelvic bones. As per the findings, for the women who were athletes and competed in swimming, their pelvic bones were narrower than the nonathletic women.
Biologically, individuals with high proportions of muscle fibers that twitch slowly have lower abilities of burning fat. Other innate biological differences in the skeletal structure determine athletic capabilities. Epstein (2013) mentions that traits are inherited with a probability of 66 percent likelihood of athletic prowess being passed on from parent to child where 80 percent is determined by the genetic factors. Similarly, body types are inherited as seen in the example of Kobe and his father Bryant where the trait of tallness is evident in enhancing their prowess in basketball. For individuals competing in sports requiring massive muscle mass such as weight lifting, NFL, wrestling and rugby among others, the thickness of their skeleton influences how much weight they can build. In fact, evidence shows that individuals participating in short putt and discus throwing have skeletons weighing up to six and a half pounds more than other individuals.
In a recent meta-analysis, a review of twenty-three studies that look into the association of performance in sports and the ACTN3 gene was conducted to establish consistency of results. The review demonstrated that athletes competing in power sports had an increased probability of better performance if they possessed the R gene. The findings agreed with and supported the existing consistency in literature regarding the association between superior performance in power athletics and possession of the ACTN3 genotype (Guth & Roth, 2013). Thus, the association between increased performance and expression of the ACTN3 R577X remains a strong association that continues to agree with research studies up to date. In fact, frequencies of genotypes have been repetitively associated to sportsperson prominence and phenotypes for performance.
References
Andrew R. & Thomas R. (2012). Genetics of Athletic Performance . Gene 210 - Genomics and Personalized Medicine.
Gillett, G., & Tamatea, A. J. (2012). The warrior gene: epigenetic considerations. New Genetics and Society , 31 (1), 41-53.
Guth, L. M., & Roth, S. M. (2013). Genetic influence on athletic performance. Current opinion in pediatrics , 25 (6), 653.
Epstein, D. (2013). The sports gene: Inside the science of extraordinary athletic performance . Penguin.
Perbal, L. (2013). The ‘warrior gene ‘and the Maori people: the responsibility of the geneticists. Bioethics , 27 (7), 382-387.
