Effective weight management: the solution lies in your DNA
Ever wonder what makes you look like your parents and siblings and makes you behave like them? The answer lies in the fact that every human body has a unique set of inherited chemical makeup known as DNA that affects how our body looks and functions.
These inherited genes also influence a person's chances of weight gain and often lead them to becoming obese. This is due to the various roles played by genes in energy homeostasis, with a tendency of fat storage and absorption, body's response to physical activity, etc.
Studies show that obesity might run in the family and that genetic inheritance influences a person's chance of becoming fat - more than any other factor. Within families, there is about an 80 percent chance that if both the parents are obese - and a 50 per cent chance if one parent is obese - the child will be prone to obesity.
However, even slim parents can have obese children or vice-versa. This is due to mutation in the genetic coding of the adipocytes (fat cells), which regulates lipogenesis, lipolysis (fat breakdown in the body) and thermogenesis (burning calories to produce heat).
DNA testing has evolved from being used only for research to now being used for the general population in order to help improve their lives by managing their challenges with weight, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
In recent years, there has been identification of different genes that control and modify energy utilisation, insulin secretion, fat absorption and storage in the body, carbohydrate metabolism, the effect of different forms of physical activity in weight loss, etc.
Every human being has a unique genetic constitution (which includes variations/ mutations). Therefore, routine weight loss diets, or for that matter exercise, may not have the necessary effect on weight loss. For instance, a general recommendation suggesting aerobic exercise in combination with a certain diet to facilitate weight loss may not work.
General guidelines for a healthy existence may not be uniformly appropriate for everyone and one size may not fit all. Lifestyle and behavioural recommendations based on an individual's DNA profile can vary significantly from the conventional dietary recommendations for people of the same age and gender. Thus, there has been a paradigm shift in the very definition of a balanced diet, which may differ for each individual.
VLCC is a pioneer in weight loss solutions. And for the first time in Asia, it has launched DNA Slim, which is a DNA-based weight management programme. It offers individualised solutions keeping the uniqueness of the person in mind. It helps identify the appropriate diet and exercise patterns that are tailored to a particular individual which would help the person lose/ manage body weight in a more scientific manner.
Each of us has a unique DNA make-up which determines our propensity to gain or lose weight. It is this difference in the genetic structure which explains why two individuals enrolling for the same slimming package sometimes obtain different results from it even if their body composition, lifestyles, and dietary habits are more or less similar.
DNA Slim is a custom-fit solution for those who have been seeking a scientific, individualised weight management programme that offers efficacious and sustainable results. To illustrate, a person with a mutation in a particular gene will respond well to a low carbohydrate diet, lose weight faster and also be able to maintain the lost weight with a macro nutrient distribution that comprises of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent proteins and 30 percent fats - rather than the traditional advice of a 55 percent carbohydrates in the daily diet.
A simple cheek swab at a VLCC centre is all it takes.
Genetic nutritional analysis can unlock the secret to how an individual responds to certain nutrients and activities, and this knowledge can be used to design a customised programme for weight loss. If something is right for your body, it will be easier to follow, and you will have a greater chance of keeping the
weight off for healthier living.
By Vandana Luthra, Founder, VLCC Group
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