Do we need personalized recommendations for infants at risk of developing disease?
Current nutrition recommendations, directed towards populations, are based on estimated average nutrient requirements for a target population and intend to meet the needs of most individuals within that population. They also aim at preventing common diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. For infants with specific genetic polymorphisms, e.g. some inborn errors of metabolism, adherence to current recommendations will cause disease symptoms and they need personalized nutrition recommendations. Some other monogenic polymorphisms, e.g. adult hypolactasia, are common but with varying prevalence between ethnic groups and within populations. Ages at onset as well as the degree of the resulting lactose intolerance also vary, making population-based as well as personalized recommendations difficult. The tolerable intake is best set by each individual based on symptoms. For polygenetic diseases such as celiac disease, type-1 diabetes and allergic disease, current knowledge is insufficient to suggest personalized recommendations aiming at primary prevention for all high-risk infants, although it may be justified to provide such recommendations on an individual level should the parents ask for them. New technologies such as nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics are promising tools with which current nutrition recommendations can possibly be refined and the potential of individualized nutrition be explored. It seems likely that in the future it will be possible to offer more subgroups within a population personalized recommendations.
Hernell
Olle
O
Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umea University, Umea, Sweden.
West
Christina
C
D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004035:Diet Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D005006:Ethnicity; D058870:Food, Organic; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007228:Infant Nutrition Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D054647:Nutrigenomics / Q000379:methods*; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D012307:Risk Factors