In our previous article published two years ago we had discussed the idea of personalized nutrition to be extended to the world of sport to optimize performances.
Last November, the UK-based chief science officer of a fitness firm presented the firm’s concept at Sports Nutrition Conference held by the NutraIngredients and European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) in Frankfurt.
The firm is currently offering DNA-based training and eating recommendations based on the analysis of 43 different genetic variations that the scientific team believes to be most important for the data modeling. The two main axes of the fitness are fat-loss and muscle-building.
But is science ready yet for such a service ? Knowing that, with human diversity estimated to be around 0.4%, there are over 12 million base pairs that can differ between individuals and that there are so many genes functions yet to be revealed ? It also addresses the hot issue of direct-to-consumer genetic testing.
The fitness claims that, although staple nutrients in sports nutrition such as caffeine, protein, creatine, as well as carbohydrates variously used for power,endurance, energy, and recovery are still relevant, the individual quantity for a client’s optimum performance can now be more accurately predicted.
The firm puts fowards the scientific argument, explaining that its leaders have put a strong focus on the scientific validity of their product – working with academia, publishing scientific papers and successfully applying for government grants in the process.
An ex-olympic athlete will present a brand new competitor of this firm at the next Food Vision event in London next March. The UK-based athlete’s firm aims at applying genetic to improve the nutrition and performance of sportspeople.
The team works on a relatively small basis in professional sport, including 5-6 premier league football teams and four large European clubs, along with some individual athletes. However, it is not just elite athletes that are addressed by the nutrigenomic approach of the firm. The biggest target market is the broader health and fitness community, the consumer who is starting to get fit or eat better, or the passionate fitness enthusiast. This firm also reports working with 45-50 most researched gene variants that have a link to exercise or nutrition response as scientific backup to deliver fitness and nutrition advice.
In Europe but also elsewhere in the world this concept is expected to progressively gaining popularity.
An Asia’s leading genetics driven wellness company is also emerging in Singapore, with an even larger number of gene variants to be included into the screening: 110 genes involved in fitness performance and 135 genes influencing nutrition and metabolism.