Diet DNA Testing: Are your Genes Making you Fat?

It seems people will do anything to be thin. With the debate raging over ‘size zero’ models on one hand and growing obesity on the other, is it just social pressures and psychological weaknesses that make us thin or fat? Or can we blame our genes? DNA testing can certainly reveal a gene that can be responsible for obesity with the right environmental triggers. In fact, such tests can reveal what diseases we are genetically vulnerable to and they can help with weight loss programmes, improving the results you can get from your diet and augmenting your overall wellness. These tests have plenty of vital uses such as finding out paternity or tracing our ancestral heritage. And in science and medicine, DNA testing can be crucial in detecting genetic diseases. DNA analysis for weight loss as well as for improving health and wellbeing is also becoming a reality as scientists discover more and more about our genes and metabolic pathways and the interactions between the two.

DNA Testing Kits

‘Nutrigenomic diets’ have been marketed as eating plans that are suited to a person’s genes, but some believe this kind of DNA testing kits are misleading. Kits can be sold at a cost of up to £1,000 over the internet and they promise to advise on the kinds of foods to avoid in reducing the risk of certain diseases. Although research has been done that suggests links between genetics and certain disorders and how these disorders might react to certain diets, no research has been done that suggests food can protect you from a disease which your genes make you vulnerable to. This does not however, mean that results of genetic health testing or diet DNA testing cannot make a considerable difference to one’s life. Consider what you would do if you knew you had a family history of diabetes or breast cancer? Would you not ensure to have all the checkups required to ensure that you catch any issues in the bud? Also, wouldn’t you be more careful about how you bring up your kids and what you feed them knowing that certain choices are more likely to impact their health?

Regulating the Tests

Investigations and testing are on-going to discover if diets based on analysis of DNA can be effective. In Britain the Centre of Genomics in Society at the University of Exeter is looking into whether the marketing of ‘nutrigenomic’ testing for diets needs to be regulated.

Some Wild Claims Made

There are also concerns in the USA, where these type of tests are offered with varying wild claims – such as making your children more intelligent by adopting a nutrigenomic diet. These claims are absurd and are not properly backed by scientific research. Clearly, marketing DNA tests as a cure for everything from intellect to disease control is exploitative and there is a lot of research needed before any such claims can be proven. That said, health DNA testing, weight and wellness tests, skin DNA tests are altogether another kettle of fish – these tests have been researched and are backed by studies published in leading journals.

Speak To International Bioscience

International Biosciences offer a broad range of relationship, paternity and health testing services designed to provide indisputable answers to many questions. Whether you seek to establish paternity, prove siblingship or research genealogy, for legal definition or peace of mind, we are able to provide DNA testing at competitive rates, professionally and confidentially. Using state of the art technology we are able to provide conclusive evidence on time, every time.Contact International Biosciences or click here to email us.