The DNA-Based Lifestyle Enhancement Trial

Despite the known cardiovascular benefits of regular physical activity and having a balanced diet, it has proven challenging to change health behaviours towards favourable lifestyles. The overarching aim of the study is to test the effect of providing personalized genetic information along with diet and exercise plans on adherence to healthy lifestyle habits and cardio-metabolic risk. There is tremendous public interest in genetics and some evidence that providing genetic information can help improve health habits. However, no intervention to date has examined the effect of comprehensive genetic testing using cutting-edge polygenic score (PGS) prediction and an interactive health portal on health behaviours and cardio-metabolic risk. The investigators hypothesize that providing participants with detailed genetic information about genetic determinants of fitness and nutrition traits will help motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyle habits. The primary objective is to test the effect of providing genetic information and interactive recommendations for diet and exercise on adoption of healthy behaviours. The secondary objective is to evaluate the effects of the personalized health recommendations on cardio-metabolic risk markers, such as dyslipidemia, inflammatory markers, and fasting glucose.