“Precision Nutrition: Personalized Approach to Optimal Health and Disease Management”
Precision nutrition is an emerging area of research under the umbrella of precision medicine, I.e., it seeks to provide personalized treatment of diseases. Precision nutrition is specific to dietary intake. It aims to prevent or treat chronic diseases based on a person’s unique characteristics like DNA, race, gender, health history and lifestyle habits. Precision nutrition considers the trillions of bacteria and microbiomes in the individual’s body, while determining the nutrition for the said individual
Main characteristic of precision nutrition, also referred as personalized nutrition, is that it focuses on individual rather than a group. Most research studies focus on the impact of diet on community. Precision nutrition on the other hand focus on individual responses to food, it notices the variations in blood responses of glucose and triglycerides of individuals eating same food, based on those observations, an ideal diet for each individual could be recommended, a diet specific for them
Precision Nutrition market is divided in two segments-
Active measurement- Active measurements tool include apps, testing kits, and programs, they provide more accurate and customizable nutrient profile for an Individual. Active management segment dominated the market in 2020 and is expected to grow continuously for the forecasted period till 2027
Standard measurement- Standard supplements demand is increasing with the consumers riding interest in supplements to fill the nutrition gaps in their diets, growing need among enthusiasts to improve their athletics performance. This trend is supposed to support the growth of the standard supplements. Standard supplements are projected to have a larger share in the personalized nutrition market during the forecasted period
Market Segments of Precision Nutrition
Weight Management- Focuses on the number of calories consumed by each individual, and assisting in maintaining the desired weight by providing increase or decrease in the number of calories from food intake and physical activity.
Chronic Disease Management- Diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer could be managed or prevented by involving education, proper nutrition, health screening and a self management program
Prenatal, Neonatal and postnatal nutrition management- A proper nutrition plan for pregnant woman, newly born babies and there mothers could be monitered and prescribed as per the needs of each mother
Sports Performance- Individuals sports and fitness requirements met with the development of proper nutrition plan by monitoring intensity, type of workout and characteristics of the individuals
Meal Planning- Precision nutrition provides guidence on how to plan meals. Individuals can ensure their bodies are getting right amount and all the required nutrients by planning meals ahead of time
Connected Kitchen- With the help of an app, persons could connect their devices to the kitchen, enabling them to track their food consumption, ability to monitor their calories intake and to manage their grocery shopping, automatically replenishing ingredients
Opportunities in Precision Market
According to the findings of consumer Survey on Dietary supplements in 2017, Vitamin dietary supplements are expected to have the largest market share over other supplements, over 76% of U.S. adults take dietary supplements. As per the same report, second most popular category is speciality supplements with 38% market share. Factors responsible for rise in the demand is due to the increased greater appreciation among consumers for healthier foods and lifestyle, and increased number of healthcare solutions.
Due to the improvements in average life expectancy and increased world population around the world, number of individuals with diseases have rapidly increasing, for example, number of people with diabetes in 1980 was 108 million comparatively in 2014 the number rose to 422 million. Organisations are working towards providing solutions, in one such instance, US based Baze company received FDA approval, permitting customers to assess their blood nutrient levels
Conclusion-
Precision Nutrition is shifting the focus of nutritional studies and solutions to individual level, compared to traditional focus of general nutritional requirements and solutions of whole communities, providing more effective health solutions. Currently largest market is North America, for the precision nutrition solutions, giving rise to multiple digital platforms, focusing on the specific nutrition biomarkers affecting the individual’s health, based on that providing AI based nutrition and lifestyle recommendations based on each individual’s health goals. Going forward, data generated by these healthcare companies will enable consumers to get best deal from there insurers by providing them personal and additional information gathered with the help of Precision nutrition.
Author: Abhishek Saini