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The Next Big Advance in Dieting and Weight Loss

by Vishnuprasad on Dec 29 2015 3:22 PM

The Next Big Advance in Dieting and Weight Loss
Precision weight loss is the next big advance in dieting and weight loss. Experts say that the use of personal genetic data to customize physical activity plans and diets will result 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 method collects a variety of information via saliva samples for gene sequencing and automated sensors detecting environment, diet, activity, and stress. After analyzing these factors, one can create an individualized plan of dietary recommendations.

“We are pretty good at helping people lose weight in the short term,” Bray said. “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.”

Obesity is one of the gravest problems of our times. A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI). A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight.

Obesity doesn’t exist in the obesity gene alone - studies have shown it’s a combination of factors concerning genetics and environment, including diet and exercise.



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