Preventomics is a system designed to provide the most personalized diet based on biochemical analysis. Is this an effective system to help sustain fat loss?
Overview
What did they test? Changes in weight loss, body composition, and various biomarkers between a diet based on genetic factors and a diet that includes general recommendations.
What did they find? Both diet groups experienced similar weight loss, as well as other various measurements. Indicating that a more personalized diet is not superior to a more generalized diet.
What does it mean for you? Following a diet that fits your needs and supports your goals will be more beneficial than one tailored specifically to various biomarkers. More evidence is needed before making dietary recommendations based on unique genetic circumstances.
What’s the Problem?
You don’t need us to tell you how much of an issue the obesity epidemic is. While many people focus on the visual aspects of obesity, what’s far more concerning is the changes within your body! Various cardiometabolic disturbances accompany excess body fat, which may lead to chronic diseases further down the road, such as (but not limited to) type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, kidney disease, and osteoarthritis 2 3 4 5 6 7. While nutritional interventions can be effective for reducing body fat and improving markers of cardiometabolic health, the vast majority of these diets do not lead to sustained weight loss 8. In fact, long-term weight loss and maintenance of that weight loss is relatively rare, with less than 50% of people who lose weight maintaining that loss past one year, and after two years, it’s less than 20% 9. Numerous physiological, psychological, sociological, and even economic factors make long-term weight loss and maintenance of that weight loss extremely difficult 10.
Current trends circulating throughout social media are likely bombarding you with numerous anecdotes about diets that ‘worked’ for various people. Many say, “I tried everything until we found X diet, and that finally worked for me.” These statements imply that for whatever reason, the successful diet must have been more effective for them specifically. Others may claim that you need to ‘eat right for your body type ().” Numerous companies have recently begun promoting diets based on your specific genetics. Various genetic polymorphisms have already identified genetic differences in insulin secretion, leptin, the leptin receptor, ghrelin, the ghrelin receptor, hormone-specific lipase, fatty acid synthase, and many other genes involved in metabolism 11 12 13 14 15 16 . The appeal is undeniable. Get your genes tested to receive the perfect diet individualized to your genetics! This ‘metabotyping’ is based on omics technology which allows the detection of specific DNA, RNA sequences, metabolites, and proteins in a biological sample. The idea is to categorize people into various ‘metabotype’ groups and assign specific diets targeting those groups. Suppose there are, in fact, specific diets that work better for specific individuals. In that case, diets based on genetic differences could provide an essential tool for weight loss and improving overall health. While we can accurately detect these genetic polymorphisms, proteins, and metabolites, it is less clear whether we have accurately developed diets that specifically improve these ‘metabotypes’ better than other diets.
This study aimed to determine whether diets based on individual genetic and metabolite testing could produce superior results compared to just generalized healthy weight loss diet advice. The study was sponsored by Preventomics, who (from their website) claim to “use personalized plans for nutrition and lifestyle habits to improve the health of people are based on individual traits such as physical and behavioral traits, lifestyle, genotype, preferences, and physical condition and will reach the recipients in the form of behavioral prompts, thanks to the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools 17.”
Great concept, but does it work?
Purpose & Hypothesis
Researchers aimed to compare changes in weight loss, body composition, and various health markers based on a general or a more personalized dietary approach using a tool known as Preventomics. With this purpose in mind, researchers expected a more personalized diet using the Preventomics system to improve various health measures more favorably than a general recommended diet.
