In Germany, a research team at the Technical University of Munich analyzed scientific articles on individualized dietary recommendations based on genetic information and reached the following conclusion: There is no clear evidence for the effect of genetic factors on the consumption of total calories, carbohydrates and fat.
The initial database search revealed more than 10,000 scientific articles which were concerned with the topic. Of these, 39 articles were identified for a relationship between genetic factors and total energy, carbohydrate, or fat consumption. “In all studies, we most frequently encountered the fat mass and obesity (FTO) associated gene as well as the melanocortin 4 receptor gene (MC4R). There are indications of a relationship between these two genes and total energy intake,” explains Christina Holzapfel, PhD, from the Institute of Nutritional Medicine at TUM.
According to the current state of knowledge, the expedience of gene-based dietary recommendations has yet to be proven.