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Nutrigenetics: where next for the foods industry?

The Pharmacogenomics Journal volume 3, pages 191–193 (2003)Cite this article

In spite of concerns about affluence-related conditions such as obesity and diabetes, the Western world has enjoyed extraordinary improvements in health and well-being over the past century. During the last 150 years, the average female life expectancy has increased by 3 months per year and now exceeds 85 years in Japanese women.1 The main causes of this remarkable phenomenon are improvements in nutrition, sanitation, hygiene and infection control.

Individuals are ever more captivated by opportunities for improved personal health and appearance; therefore, it is not surprising that consumer studies suggest preferences for food products having positive health benefits. At the same time, consumers believe that they are all ‘different’ so it is reasonable that food choices should reflect this diversity. As we all want to see healthier populations, it is increasingly topical to ask how food companies can further contribute to health and longevity, and how new concepts and techniques from the genomics era can aid the industry to improve healthy living. Indeed, many population studies have concluded that the micronutrients from high fruit and vegetable diets improve health and longevity;2,3 so how might the food industry further contribute to improvements in human health and what are the pitfalls?

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  1. Unilever Corporate Research, Colworth Laboratory, Sharnbrook, Bedford, UK

    M R Green & F van der Ouderaa

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  1. M R Green
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  2. F van der Ouderaa
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Correspondence to M R Green.

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DUALITY OF INTEREST

The authors are employees of Unilever p/c, a foods industry company.

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Green, M., van der Ouderaa, F. Nutrigenetics: where next for the foods industry?. Pharmacogenomics J 3, 191–193 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.tpj.6500180

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