Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition

Nutrigenomics integrates genomic science and nutrition by examining how dietary components influence gene expression and how inherited variation shapes nutrient responses. At its core are two interlinked disciplines: nutrigenetics, which studies how single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and other variants affect nutrient metabolism and susceptibility to diet-related diseases; and nutrigenomics, which explores how nutrients and bioactive food constituents modulate transcriptional, epigenetic and metabolic networks. This field seeks to tailor dietary guidance to an individual’s genetic and epigenetic profile, lifestyle factors and metabolic biomarkers, with the aim of preventing or managing chronic conditions—most notably obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Advances in high-throughput ‘omics’—including genome sequencing, epigenome mapping, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics—have revealed molecular pathways by which food bioactives activate or suppress networks involved in oxidative stress, inflammation and energy homeostasis. Concurrently, large-scale cohort studies and deep phenotyping trials demonstrate that individuals exhibit markedly different glycaemic and lipaemic responses to the same meals, influenced by the gut microbiome, genetic variants and personal lifestyle. Personalised nutrition harnesses these insights to optimise health by recommending nutrient compositions, meal patterns and functional foods that align with a person’s unique molecular and clinical profile.

Research from Nature Portfolio

1. A multicentre randomised trial stratified participants into “fat-responders” or “carbohydrate-responders” based on ten obesity- and nutrient-sensitive genotypes, then assigned them to high-fat or high-carbohydrate weight-loss diets. After 12 weeks there was no significant difference in weight change between genotype-matched and mismatched diets, challenging the predictive value of current genetic panels for macronutrient-specific weight management.
2. A comprehensive review in Nature Metabolism has elucidated the pleiotropic roles of ketone bodies—especially β-hydroxybutyrate—as both alternative fuels and signalling molecules. It highlights how ketones modulate epigenetic marks, inflammatory pathways and gene networks, and considers their potential as endogenous or exogenous agents in precision nutrition strategies.

Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): A point variation in the genome that may alter an individual’s metabolic response to specific nutrients and influence disease risk.

Nutrigenetics: The study of how genetic variation impacts the body’s handling of nutrients and predisposition to nutrition-related diseases.

Nutrigenomics: The field investigating how nutrients and dietary bioactives regulate gene expression, epigenetic states and global metabolic pathways.

Polygenic risk score (PRS): A quantitative summary of risk derived from the combined effect of multiple genetic variants associated with a trait or disease.

Epigenetic modification: A heritable change in gene activity—such as DNA methylation or histone acetylation—that does not alter DNA sequence but affects transcript abundance in response to environmental factors, including diet.

References

1. The Personalized Nutrition Study (POINTS): evaluation of a genetically informed weight loss approach, a Randomized Clinical Trial. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Metabolic Messengers: ketone bodies. Nature Metabolism (2023).