Precision Weight Loss: Using genetics to help you lose weight

Meet the next big advance in dieting and weight loss, as predicted by health experts: “precision weight loss.” In the future, according to a new report published in the aptly-named journal Obesity, experts hope to use personal genetic data to customize diets and physical activity plans, hopefully resulting in successful weight loss treatment.
“I think within five years, we’ll see people start to use a combination of genetic, behavioral, and other sophisticated data to develop individualized weight management plans,” said Molly Bray, a geneticist and professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.
The “precision weight loss” plan
By collecting a variety of information via saliva samples for gene sequencing and automated sensors detecting environment, diet, activity, and stress, researchers hope to analyze these factors to create an individualized plan of dietary recommendations.
The plans will be relatively low-cost—with the falling costs of genome sequencing matched with the rising use of portable monitors to track real-time information (your Fitbit falls into this category), scientists already have a plethora of information access to the information they need for further research– the only problem lies in data analysis.
“We are pretty good at helping people lose weight in the short term,” Bray continued. “But the stats on long-term weight loss are pretty dismal. We still don’t understand the process of weight regain very well, either from a behavioral or a biological standpoint.”
It’s more than just the genes
While researchers previously discovered the connection of an “obesity gene” causing energy to be stored rather than burned, Bray warns that this gene isn’t as simple as it looks.
“When you go back and see how much of the variation in this gene accounts for the variation in body size in the general population, it’s really small,” Bray said. “So that highlights that there are going to be several genes involved with obesity, and they’re going to interact with each other in complicated ways. And that’s certainly true of weight loss and maintenance too.”
“Obesity is one of the gravest problems of our times,” said Bray. “Obviously prevention would be the best approach, but there are literally millions of individuals who are currently obese and are in dire need of more effective strategies for long-term weight loss that will ultimately improve overall health.”
So obesity doesn’t exist in the obesity gene alone—research projects have shown it’s a combination of factors concerning genetics and environment, including diet and exercise.
“When people hear that genes may be playing a role in their weight loss success, they don’t say, ‘Oh great, I just won’t exercise any more,’” said Bray. “They actually say, ‘Oh thank you. Finally, someone acknowledges that it’s harder work for me than it is for others.’ And then I think they’re a little more forgiving of themselves, and they’re more motivated to make a change.”
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