Genes and Dietary Preferences: Their Role in Personalized Nutrition

Currently, personalized diets that take into account consumers' genetic characteristics are becoming increasingly popular. Nutrigenetics studies the effects of genetic variation on metabolism, and nutrigenomics further branches out to study how nutrients and food compounds affect genes; this work involves mutations that affect metabolite assimilation and contributes to nutrigenetics research, while finding the genes responsible for dietary preferences can be used to customize personalized diets. Currently, the demand for genetic nutrition is growing because it helps prevent and/or rehabilitate non-communicable diseases, including single-gene and polygenic diseases.

In this project, single nucleotide polymorphisms in gene missense mutations that alter the function of encoded proteins, thereby leading to specific dietary preferences or diseases; genes for food preferences are studied, especially those responsible for fat and carbohydrate absorption, food intolerances, vitamin metabolism, taste, xenobiotic oxidation, dietary preferences, and food addiction. As a result, 34 genes affecting dietary preferences were identified in this study. Significant deficiencies were found in the methods/procedures currently used to develop personalized diets, and weaknesses were exposed in the development of nutrigenetics (inconsistent SNP gene data, neglect of population genetic data, difficulty in understanding consumer information, etc.). Combining various limitations, the study proposes an approximate model that can be used for personalized dietary choices and plans for continuous improvement.