In the battle against the bulge, one-size-fits-all diet and exercise plans are not always effective, leading some experts to take weight loss to a molecular level.
To help you fit into that pair of skinny jeans, nutrition and health experts are looking at your genes in order to help clients develop healthy lifestyles.
DNA dieting
Newtopia, a new Toronto-based company that launched in January, offers users a glimpse into their genetic makeup that guides a team of specialists in customizing a diet and exercise plan according to your DNA.
“The process is simple,” said Jeff Ruby, founder and CEO of Newtopia.
A person provides a sample of their saliva, which is then sent to a laboratory at the University of Toronto where it is analyzed by geneticists. They look at genes that have been scientifically proven as playing a role in exercise, nutrition and behaviour management. Based on the results, nutritional and exercise experts tailor a weight loss plan to the person using their DNA.
Ruby came up with the idea for Newtopia after his father was diagnosed with cancer at 54 and died just two years later.
“Sitting in the doctor’s office with him, my father asked his doctor, ‘How did I get this?’” recalled Ruby. “And the doctor responded, ‘Well, we believe it was your lifestyle.’”
After his father passed away, Ruby said he wondered if the same thing would happen to him.
“Is it me or is it my genes?” he asked. “I didn’t want to guess, and I didn’t want others to guess.”
With no experience in the health industry, Ruby put his career as a corporate lawyer on standby and teamed up with leading geneticists from Laval University in Quebec to determine whether there was a connection between DNA and weight loss.
Before launching across the country, Newtopia carried out testing for two years with more than 400 clients in Ontario, and found a success rate higher than 80 per cent.
Ruby said he attributes the high success rate to the genetic testing component.
“We’re not throwing you on Atkins or South Beach or Zone, where we hope it works for you,” he said. “Those genes give us a picture as to how we can personalize a plan specifically for you.”
Users also get intensive one-on-one weekly coaching sessions via Skype, where even the coaches are tailored to clients’ personality types, determined through a questionnaire.
Okotoks resident Debbie Remple has already lost more than 30 pounds in three months on Newtopia.
Remple said her genetic testing revealed she has low metabolism and is prone to gaining weight quickly.
“The light bulb went on with the genetic testing,” she said. “I would diet and lose weight, then quit exercising and the weight would just come back on almost as fast as I lost it. What I didn’t realize is that I have to maintain exercise to keep the weight off.”
Newtopia put her on a 1,400 calorie a day diet, based simply on Health Canada’s Food Guide.
“It’s not some whacky and weird diet, which is nice,” she said.
Shedding pounds, one molecule at a time
Another program breaking diet down to the molecular level is metabolic typing.
Developed in the 1960s, the idea of metabolic typing is every person is unique at the cellular, biochemical, hormonal and genetic level. As a result, every person reacts differently to different foods. Through a questionnaire gauging your personality type, body shape, physical characteristics, food preferences and reactions, metabolic typing helps determine a list of ideal foods better for promoting long-term health.
“Everyone has ideas about the perfect diet, but in reality there is no perfect diet. It just depends on who you apply it to,” said Andrew Gustafson, certified metabolic typing analyst and owner of Natural High Fitness in Okotoks.
The goal of metabolic typing is not weight loss, but rather to help people make long-term healthy lifestyle choices, said Gustafson. Once a client adjusts their eating habits, however, weight loss is often a welcomed side effect.
“This is not a diet,” said Gustafson. “You’re not going to lose 50 pounds in a month.”
The danger of diets, said Gustafson, is people often think they can go back to their normal eating habits once they’ve reached their weight loss goal, only to gain the weight back.
“Metabolic typing is a way to get healthy,” he said. “This is a program that encourages you to take long-term steps to get healthier. In time, the weight will come off and it will stay off.”
The doctor weighs in
With so many gimmick and fad diets on the market, it’s often hard to tell if a program’s claims are legitimate.
Dr. Catherine Anderson, a clinical instructor on medical genetics at the University of British Columbia, recommended people take the claims of weight loss programs with a grain of salt.
“People like the idea that science will help them get thin,” said Anderson. “(The genetic testing) is a good hook. It tells people it’s not their fault… But it’s a lot more complicated than just looking at one or two genes.”
Anderson said researchers have not yet identified clear-cut genes “as the magic bullet answer to why some people gain weight and some people don’t.”
“The science is not completely understood yet,” she said. “Food is complex. It is known that people metabolize things differently, but the research is still in the initial stages.”
Her concern about the Newtopia program is their research isn’t made readily available, she said, unlike many other genetic testing companies.
For example, 23andMe, an American-based retail DNA testing service that also provides information for consumers to learn about their genes, provides consumers with information about the current state of scientific understanding surrounding specific genetic information.
“Some of the things they’re testing they’re not quite ready to do anything about, but they make a point of telling you that,” she said. “My concern with Newtopia is that they aren’t showing you the research which is kind of a red flag.”
The weight loss side effect of a program like Newtopia can more likely be attributed to the program’s strong support network through coaching, said Anderson.
“It may be helpful, but not because of the science, because of the placebo effect,” said Anderson.
