This review found no clear or consistent evidence that genetic risk communication alone either raises motivation or translates into actual change in dietary intake or physical activity to reduce the risk of cardiometabolic disorders in adults .
Genetic risk prediction of chronic conditions including obesity , diabetes and CVD currently has limited predictive power but its potential to engage healthy behaviour change has been of immense research interest .
We aim ed to underst and whether the latter is indeed true by conducting a systematic review and meta- analysis investigating whether genetic risk communication affects motivation and actual behaviour change towards preventative lifestyle modification .
A randomized trial of the clinical utility of genetic testing for obesity: Design and implementation considerations
Background Obesity rates in the United States have escalated in recent decades and present a major challenge in public health prevention efforts . Currently , testing to identify genetic risk for obesity is readily available through several direct-to-consumer companies . Despite the availability of this type of testing , there is a paucity of evidence as to whether providing people with personal genetic information on obesity risk will facilitate or impede desired behavioral responses . Purpose We describe the key issues in the design and implementation of a r and omized controlled trial examining the clinical utility of providing genetic risk information for obesity . Methods Participants are being recruited from the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative , an ongoing , longitudinal research cohort study design ed to determine the utility of personal genome information in health management and clinical decision making . The primary focus of the ancillary Obesity Risk Communication Study is to determine whether genetic risk information added value to traditional communication efforts for obesity , which are based on lifestyle risk factors . The trial employs a 2 × 2 factorial design in order to examine the effects of providing genetic risk information for obesity , alone or in combination with lifestyle risk information , on participants ’ psychological responses , behavioral intentions , health behaviors , and weight . Results The factorial design generated four experimental arms based on communication of estimated risk to participants : ( 1 ) no risk feedback ( control ) , ( 2 ) genetic risk only , ( 3 ) lifestyle risk only , and ( 4 ) both genetic and lifestyle risk ( combined ) . Key issues in study design pertained to the selection of algorithms to estimate lifestyle risk and determination of information to be provided to participants assigned to each experimental arm to achieve a balance between clinical st and ards and method ological rigor . Following the launch of the trial in September 2011 , implementation challenges pertaining to low enrollment and differential attrition became apparent and required immediate attention and modifications to the study protocol . Although monitoring of these efforts is ongoing , initial observations show a doubling of enrollment and reduced attrition . Limitations The trial is evaluating the short-term impact of providing obesity risk information as participants are followed for only 3 months . This study is built upon the structure of an existing personalized medicine study wherein participants have been provided with genetic information for other diseases . This nesting in a larger study may attenuate the effects of obesity risk information and has implication s for the generalizability of study findings . Conclusions This r and omized trial examines value of obesity genetic information , both when provided independently and when combined with lifestyle risk assessment , to motivate individuals to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors . Study findings will guide future intervention efforts to effectively communicate genetic risk information
This review found no clear or consistent evidence that genetic risk communication alone either raises motivation or translates into actual change in dietary intake or physical activity to reduce the risk of cardiometabolic disorders in adults .
Genetic risk prediction of chronic conditions including obesity , diabetes and CVD currently has limited predictive power but its potential to engage healthy behaviour change has been of immense research interest .
We aim ed to underst and whether the latter is indeed true by conducting a systematic review and meta- analysis investigating whether genetic risk communication affects motivation and actual behaviour change towards preventative lifestyle modification .