The Olympic medalist Andrew Steele knows our current knowledge about genetics isn't enough to give complete predictions about health.
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A company used a sample of my DNA to tell me how I should eat and work out — here's the verdict
"Genetics isn’t destiny, but it is opportunity," said Andrew Steele, the head of product at DNAFit.
DNAFit has teamed up with Vita Mojo so that once you have your results, you can order meals tailored to your report.
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Nevertheless, the company where he is head of product, DNAFit, is one of several organisations drawing on genetic data to give customers advice about their diet and exercise regimen. For £249 (for the complete package), it uses a customer's DNA sample to create a personalised profile that provides diet and training advice it believes best suits them, according to some limited genetic studies.
"There's no scientific proof that this can be a prediction — it's just learning more about you so you can better reach your goal," Steele told Business Insider.
Of the concept of DNA testing, Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition and public health at New York University, told Business Insider's Kevin Loria, "The tests are fun, but their usefulness has yet to be shown.
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"I'd rather spend the money on good dinners," Nestle added.
A position paper from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offered the same sentiment: "The use of nutrigenetic testing to provide dietary advice is not ready for routine dietetics practice."
DNAFit has worked with several high-profile clients, such as Greg Rutherford and the Egyptian national football team. It's also used by trainers at some David Lloyd gyms and is an official wellness provider for LinkedIn employees.
Still, Steele said the core of DNAFit's business was now "ordinary consumers who take the DNA-swab test at home.
With that in mind, we tried it — here's how it went:
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I'm Ali, Business Insider UK's lifestyle editor. I'm pretty interested in everything health and fitness, so when I was offered a free trial of DNAFit, a company that uses DNA samples to produce personalised exercise-and-nutrition reports based on a person's genetic makeup, I happily obliged.
After making a profile on the DNAFit website, I was sent a kit that looked like this.
It contained a swab pack with clear instructions, along with some information on the company, privacy, and code of practice.
I took a sample of saliva from my inner cheek and sent it to the lab. It takes about 10 business days to process, according to the company, though mine didn't take as long.
While dietitians say genetic testing that aims to provide dietary advice isn't ready for routine use, DNAFit claims its tests pass a "strict inclusion protocol" and that any advice it gives has a corresponding "modifiable lifestyle change you can make."
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