title: The effects of parental education on exercise behavior in childhood and youth: a study in Dutch and Finnish twins.
abstract: Twin studies have estimated the relative contribution of genes and the environment to variance in exercise behavior and it is known that parental education positively affects exercise levels. This study investigates the role of parental education as a potential modifier of variance in exercise behavior from age 7 to 18 years. The study is based on large datasets from the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR: N = 24 874 twins; surveys around the ages of 7, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years) and two Finnish twin cohorts (FinnTwin12: N = 4399; 12, 14 and 17 years; FinnTwin16: N = 4648; 16, 17 and 18 years). Regular participation in moderate-to-vigorous exercise activities during leisure time was assessed by survey. Parental education was dichotomized ("both parents with a low education" vs "at least one parent with a high education"). The mean in exercise behavior tended to be higher and the variance tended to be lower in children of high educated parents. Evidence for gene-by-environment interaction was weak. To develop successful interventions that specifically target children of low educated parents, the mechanisms causing the mean and variance differences between the two groups should be better understood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|EMGO+, Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huppertz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|EMGO+, Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|EMGO+, Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: E J C
authors.initials: EJC
authors.lastname: de Geus
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C E M
authors.initials: CEM
authors.lastname: van Beijsterveldt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Institute of Molecular Medicine FIMM, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaprio
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Silventoinen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Gene-environment interaction; adolescence; family environment; genetics; health; physical activity; sport