Exercise training response heterogeneity: statistical insights

Excerpt

To the Editor: We would like to thank Dr Sparks for her comprehensive review of research on individual differences in the responses to exercise training [1]. It was especially helpful to see some of the statistical issues touched upon in this review [2]. We believe that these statistical factors are crucial for answering the fundamental question of whether there are true and clinically important individual differences in the response to exercise. By ‘true’, we mean individual response differences that are not merely random trial-to-trial variability in disguise. By ‘clinically important’, we mean individual differences that exceed a well-rationalised minimal clinically important difference (MCID). We also maintain that, in the ‘roadmap’ for researching this topic, true and clinically relevant individual response differences should be confirmed empirically before any moderators and mediators of the exercise response are explored [3]. …