Diets Based on Individual Tests?

Genetic test may help individuals determine which diet to follow.
The Wall Street Journal (3/4, Winslow) reports there is a seemingly unexplainable phenomenon that can happen to people trying to lose weight: They can go on the same exact diet and experience dramatically different results, regardless of the level of adherence. Now, scientists at Stanford University believe they have found a way to end such frustrations -- a DNA test. Apparently, it can help a person determine whether they should follow a low-carb or low-fat diet.
The team's breakthrough is based on data from "a study from 2007 in which 138 overweight or obese women were assigned to one of four popular diets for a year," HealthDay (3/3, Thomas) reported. Participants "also had the inside of their cheeks swabbed to collect a DNA sample," which was then used to "assign women to a 'genotype-appropriate' diet." In short, "women assigned to the correct diet...lost two to three times more weight at 12 months than those who were assigned to a diet that was inappropriate," results that were "even more stark" among women on the "most extreme diets."
According to Reuters (3/3, Fox), the $149 test used during the research was manufactured by Interleukin and is meant to detect mutations in three genes -- known as FABP2, PPARG, and ADRB2.