FindWhy™ DNA Testing

Science has made great advances in understanding causes of obesity including identifying environmental causes as well as genes that might be implicated. Major scientific effort is now directed toward assessing the interactions of genes and environment in the current obesity epidemic. Obesity results when body fat accumulates over time as a result of a chronic energy imbalance (calories consumed exceed calories expended). Obesity is a major health hazard worldwide and is associated with several relatively common diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and some cancers.

In recent decades, obesity has reached epidemic proportions in populations whose environments offer an abundance of calorie-rich foods and fewer opportunities for physical activity. Although changes in the genetic makeup of populations occur too slowly to be responsible for this rapid rise in obesity, genes do play a role in the development of obesity. It is thought that genes regulate how our bodies capture, store, and release energy from food including the drive to overeat (poor regulation of appetite and satiety); the tendency to be sedentary (physically inactive); a diminished ability to use dietary fats as fuel; and an enlarged, easily stimulated capacity to store body fat.

Not all people living in industrialized countries with an abundance of food and reduced physical activity are or will become obese; nor will all obese people have the same body fat distribution or suffer the same health issues. This diversity occurs among groups of the same racial or ethnic background and even within families living in the same environment. The variation in how people respond to the same environmental conditions is an additional indication that genes play a role in the development of obesity. This is consistent with the theory that obesity results from genetic variation interacting with shifting environmental conditions.

Genetic information is stored in DNA. Segments of DNA that encode proteins or other functional products are called genes.

Genes are the basic physical and functional units of heredity. Each gene is located on a particular region of a chromosome. Adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine are nucleotides and are the building blocks of DNA. Each gene has a specific ordered sequence of these nucleotides.

A gene can exist in many different forms, called alleles. For example there is a gene which determines the color of hair. That gene may have many forms, or alleles: black hair, brown hair, auburn hair, red hair, blond hair, etc. One allele for each gene comes from the mother and one from the father.

Each of the two inherited alleles for a gene each may be strong ("dominant") or weak ("recessive"). When an allele is dominant, it means that the physical characteristic ("trait") it is coded for is usually expressed, or shown, in the living organism. Only one dominant allele is needed to express a dominant trait. Two recessive alleles are needed to exhibit a recessive form of a trait. Researchers investigate just what each gene is responsible for in the human body, and how mutations to genes cause genetic diseases.

The FindWhy™ test identifies DNA variations called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP’s) and is based on a detailed analysis of the scientific literature. This test is a risk assessment test and is not a diagnostic test. The test does not guarantee weight loss by following a particular dietary strategy, nor does it provide obvious benefit from choosing one diet over another based on the test results. This test is designed to shed light on an individual's genetic background, and therefore allow patients to create a weight loss plan that will help overcome possible predispositions, and to help them achieve lasting results.

• Avoid saturated fats.
• Avoid simple carbohydrates (refined sugar and flour).
• Pre-portion meals to avoid overeating.
• Consume high protein diet.
• Consume high fiber diet.
• Manage stress.
• Meal planning (Don’t miss breakfast, eat every 4 hours, high protein snacks in morning and afternoon, finish eating 2-3 hours prior to bed).
• Avoid sedentary lifestyle.

1. If you have not already done so, sign up for an account here: labrix.com/register
2. Place your first order for FindWhy™ test kits
3. Your kits will be shipped to your office
4. Give patients valuable information about their weight gain tendencies
5. Devise targeted nutritional treatment for successful weight control

Sample Collection

When the patient is ready to collect the sample, the brushes are rubbed on the inside of the mouth in the cheek area. The sample collection can either be done in the clinic or you can send the patient home with the kit. The patient will complete the necessary paperwork including requisition form and payment form (if applicable). The return envelope can be placed in any USPS collection box for return shipment to the lab.

Results Delivery

The sample will be processed promptly and patient's test results will be accessible via your online account with Labrix.