Genes Point to Best Diets

at 5:03 PM

Study shows some women benefit from low-fat plan, others from low-carb... (New York Times, Science Section, Tuesday March 4, 2010)

Stanford University researches have reported that a genetic test can help people choose which diet works best for them. In the study, those with a genetic disposition to benefit from a low-carb diet lost 2 1/2 times more weight as those on the same diet without the predisposition. Similarly women with a genetic makeup that favored a low-fat diet lost substantially more weight than their counterparts.

Data from another study indicate that 45% of white women have a low-carb genotype, while 39% are genetically predisposed to a low-fat diet. These results explain a phenomenon that we have witnessed before; why two people decide to go on the same diet and exercise plan only to have one succeed. One of the co-authors of the study said that strict adherence won't matter if people's diets are out of sync with their genetic makeup.