Weight Loss Prediction Now Easier With Saliva-Based Test

A new saliva-based DNA health test provides an overview of a person’s genetic response to diet, exercise and weight control. With people in India taking a more proactive approach toward health and wellness, this DNA profiling test may help them lose weight. An overweight 25-year-old Bangalore-based techie named Radha (name changed) had tried numerous fad diets to shed the extra pounds. But nothing appeared to be working. She learned about a new saliva-based DNA wellness test that provides a picture of the genetic response to weight management, nutrition and exercise from a random Google search.

She took the test out of curiosity, and it gave her advice on food, detox, fitness and weight management bundled into one. Radha is not the only one benefiting from the transformation of personal care in India because of DNA profiling.

What is genetic testing or DNA profiling?

DNA profiling is the process of determining a person’s DNA characteristics. It is also known as DNA fingerprinting. It is recognised mainly for helping people understand difficult-to-treat disorders like cancer and tuberculosis and more recently assists in offering an informed approach to a better lifestyle.

“Genetic testing has come to India, with an increasing number of tests done here and many of them costing half as much as they did five years ago. Genetic testing is used for a variety of purposes - right from confirming a diagnosis, checking someone’s predisposition to a disease to deciding the course of treatment for certain diseases/disorders," Anand. K, CEO, SRL Diagnostics.

The four essential components of wellbeing- diet, weight, skin, fitness, and detoxification- are covered by the SRL wellness test. It examines genetic information for several hundred different DNA sequence variants and aids in unlocking a customer-specific way of life. Healthy living is perceived as a one-size-fits-all perspective, which might not be appropriate for everyone. It is because everyone’s underlying causes are unique; for some, a sedentary lifestyle may be to blame, while for others, a metabolic disorder or hormonal imbalance may be to blame.

A genetic test offers details about a person’s genes and chromosomes. It aids in pinpointing the exact issue and suggests modifications. It not only gives better and more accurate findings but also avoids the necessity for pointless exams and screenings. These tests also evaluate a person’s pharmacological response in terms of effectiveness and risk of unpleasant side effects.

Advertisement

“You could be following the same diet, exercises and routine as one of your friends, but still not achieve the same result. It gives you the understanding to know about your personal diet, vitamins, exercises, weight loss pattern, alcohol, caffeine and nicotine dependency and 40+ genetic lifestyle parameters through your own genetic makeup,” said Neeraj Gupta, Founder and CEO, Genes2Me.

The tests from Genes2Me provide individualised data on significant lifestyle characteristics, exercise regimens, nutritional needs, metabolites, eating habits, food reactions, body composition and weight. Personal genomics has received a lot of interest in India due to the pandemic, even though the public may take a while to adopt these tests.

Advertisement

“During the pandemic, people got to know about terminologies like genome and DNA and genes, role of genes, the awareness on such aspects have become much bigger and larger as compared to it used to be a few years ago,” said Gupta.

“While DNA profiling is still new in India, people have become more and more proactive towards their health and wellness and have thus slowly found liking towards personal genomics and genetic testing. Genetic industry - mainly personal genomics is getting a lot of attention in India. Today, healthcare and wellness are important for people, and they are willing to use the tech available to ensure their wellbeing,” said Sujeeth Nair, Chief Marketing Officer and Business Head at OhMyGene.

Sagenome, a genomics company based in Kerala, has launched the molecular diagnostic programme OhMyGene. It offers a thorough, personalised genetic test that examines more than 8000 genes to determine a person's susceptibility to more than 200 health conditions, including a person’s propensity for certain lifestyle diseases and genetic disorders.

“Most of these genetic tests are available in India within a cost range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 60,000 per test. The ease of doing this test with just providing one’s saliva sample and the turnaround time of getting the reports has also contributed to the momentum at which genetic testing is blooming in India,” said Nair.

The fact that more tests are done and that many of them are now just half as expensive as they were a few years ago is further evidence of India’s bright future in genetic testing.

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime test. It’s not that you must do that again and again. Thus, it can always begin from the pocket-friendly range from Rs 5,000-6,000 rupees and it goes up to 20 25,000 depending upon what you want to do. It is also modular, one can add bits and pieces to it and to the level of information you want to get, and you can keep on adding it every year,” said Gupta.

Source-Medindia