A Cheek Swab to Choose Your Diet Plan? – Yahoo! News
WEDNESDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) — Wondering if you'd do
better to cut carbs or fats to lose weight? A DNA test using a cheek swab
may reveal which approach would work best for you, new research
suggests.
Researchers from Stanford University used data on a study from 2007 in
which 138 overweight or obese women were assigned to one of four popular
diets for a year. The diets included: the Atkins diet (very low
carbohydrate), the Zone diet (low carbohydrate), the Ornish diet (very low
fat) or a health professional's diet (a low-fat diet that generally
follows the U.S Agriculture Department's Food Pyramid). The women also had
the inside of their cheeks swabbed to collect a DNA sample.
Researchers used the genetic information to assign women to a
“genotype-appropriate” diet, an eating plan that would seem to be the
most effective for them given their particular genetic makeup.
Women assigned to the correct diet based on their genotype lost two to
three times more weight at 12 months than those who were assigned to a
diet that was inappropriate. When the researchers looked at only the most
extreme diets (Atkins versus Ornish), the results were even more stark.
Women assigned to their correct diet for their genotype lost five times as
much weight as those on the incorrect diet, the study found.
The women on the correct diets also showed improvements in their “good”
(HDL) cholesterol and decreases in harmful triglycerides.
“The weight loss differences between the various diets were not that
dramatic, but the weight loss difference within a particular diet was,”
said lead study author Mindy Dopler Nelson, a Stanford postdoctoral
research fellow. “On each diet, there were a lot who lost weight, there
were a lot who didn't lose weight and there were even some that gained
weight. By looking at the genetics we were able to see it was less the
particular diet than the individual's response to the diet.”
The study was to be presented Wednesday at the American Heart
Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Conference 2010,
in San Francisco.
The DNA test, made by Interleukin Genetics in Waltham, Mass., sells for
$149. It works by honing in on certain genes that play a role in the way
people metabolize food, said Lew Bender, CEO of Interleukin Genetics.
From among hundreds of genes believed to be involved with obesity,
researchers from Interleukin Genetics identified three genes that had been
implicated in multiple clinical studies to play a role in weight
management. The genes include fatty acid binding protein 2, peroxisome
proliferator- activated receptor gamma, and beta 2 adrenergic receptor,
Bender said.
“We went through a rigorous scientific process to find those that were
the most validated and the most functional, and these were the three,” he
said.
In those genes, a so-called single nucleotide polymorphism — or a
variation of a DNA sequence within a gene fragment — causes the gene to
produce a form of protein that changes the way it functions. In the case
of fatty acid binding protein 2, for example, the polymorphism leads to
the production of a protein that can cause a greater absorption of fat,
Bender said.
“If you look at someone who has a polymorphism that causes them to
absorb more fat, combined with another polymorphism that causes them to
not burn fat well, they would be more prone to obesity from diets that are
high in fat,” he said. “In those cases, we would recommend they go on a
low-fat diet.”
Dr. Robert Eckel, past president of the American Heart Association and
a professor of medicine at University of Colorado School of Medicine, said
the study results were very preliminary and had to be confirmed by larger
studies before he would recommend that anyone have their diet
genotyped.
“The three genes they have identified are all genes that could affect
energy balance, and the idea that polymorphisms in these genes could
affect energy balance is of interest scientifically,” Eckel said. “This
could explain small differences in the way people respond to diet. But
right now the most important predictor of successful dieting is
compliance.”
Stanford's Nelson, a nutritional scientist, said she was encouraged by
the findings but not surprised. During her career, she's seen wide
variations in weight loss among people assigned to identical diets. Some
results could be explained by how well people adhered to the diet, but not
all, she said.
“You do need to be on a reduced-calorie diet. You still need to eat
healthy. But there is a difference in how people process calories,” Nelson
said. “Knowing your genotype is just one more tool to help the weight-loss
process.”
Interleukin Genetics has applied for a patent on the DNA test, Bender
said.
More information
For tips on losing weight, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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