Precision Nutrition: Latest Advances in Obesity

"Precision nutrition" is an emerging field of nutrition research that focuses on understanding inter- and intra-individual metabolic variability and helps develop customized dietary plans and interventions to maintain optimal individual health. It includes nutrigenomics (gene-nutrient interactions), epigenetics, microbiome, and environmental factors. Obesity is a complex disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors, making it a relevant target for precision nutrition approaches. Recent studies have shown significant associations between obesity phenotypes (weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and central and regional obesity) and genetic variants, epigenetic factors (DNA methylation and non-coding RNA), microbial species, and environment (sociodemographics and physical activity).

Furthermore, studies have shown that interactions between genetic variants, microbial metabolites, and epigenetic factors affect energy balance and obesity. These include variants in the FTO, MC4R, PPAR, APOA, and FADS genes, DNA methylation in CpG island regions, and specific miRNAs and microbial species such as Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Clostridia, etc. Similarly, studies have shown that microbial metabolites, folate, B vitamins, and short-chain fatty acids interact with miRNAs to affect obesity phenotypes. With the advent of next-generation sequencing and analytical methods, advances in precision nutrition have the potential to bring new approaches that can further lead to interventions or customized treatments for individuals or susceptible populations.