[original] The role of genomics in health behavior change: challenges and opportunities.
The most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the western world can be accounted for by unhealthy patterns
of behavior (e.g., smoking, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, and alcohol consumption). Interventions to improve
health behavior are sorely needed. To fully realize the potential of health behavior change interventions, be they
individual level, community level, social structural, or policy-based, a greater understanding of the extent to which
genomics can inform efforts at health behavior change is warranted. In this commentary, we explore three relatively
novel possible routes to the integration of genomics and health behavior: (1) genomics may influence health behavior
indirectly through intermediate phenotypes, requiring well-defined theory-based and mechanistic models of health
behavior, (2) genomics may moderate response to interventions to change health behavior, and (3) genomics,
specifically epigenetic variation, may be influenced by health behavior. The integration of genomics into research on
interventions to change health behavior is not without challenges and will certainly require transdisciplinary
collaborative science to succeed. We provide specific action points for moving the science forward to explore the extent
to which genomic information can be harnessed to ultimately decrease morbidity and mortality associated with
unhealthy behavior.
[simplified] The role of genetics in changing of health behavior: challenges and opportunities.
The most common causes of disease and death in the western world can be explained by unhealthy patterns of behavior
(e.g. smoking, lifestyle with little activity, unhealthy diet, and drinking alcohol). Interventions to improve health behavior
are badly needed. To fully realize the potential of interventions to change health behavior, be they individual level,
community level, social structural, or policy-based, a greater understanding of the extent to which genetics can
influence efforts at changing health behavior is required. In this commentary, we explore three relatively new possible
roads to the integration of genetics and health behavior: (1) genetics may influence health behavior indirectly through
intermediate phenotypes (the phenotype is what a person looks like as a result of their genes and their environment),
which will require well-defined theory-based and mechanistic models of health behavior, (2) genetics may tone down
response to interventions to change health behavior, and (3) genetics may be affected by health behavior, specifically
epigenetic variation (these are gene changes that remain during cell division but that do not change the gene sequence
itself). The integration of genetics into research on interventions to change health behavior is not without challenges
and will certainly require transdisciplinary collaborative science to be successful. We provide specific action points for
moving the science forward to explore the extent to which genetic information can be used to at last reduce the number
of diseases and deaths associated with unhealthy behavior.
[original + local cohesion] The role of genomics in health behavior change: challenges and opportunities.
The most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the western world can be accounted for by unhealthy patterns
of behavior (e.g., smoking, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, and alcohol consumption). Interventions to improve such
health behavior are sorely needed. To fully realize the potential of these interventions, be they individual level,
community level, social structural, or policy-based, a greater understanding of the extent to which genomics can inform
efforts at health behavior change is warranted.
In this commentary, we explore three relatively novel possible routes to the integration of genomics and health
behavior:
(1) genomics may influence health behavior indirectly through intermediate phenotypes, requiring well-defined
theory-based and mechanistic models of health behavior,
(2) genomics may moderate response to interventions to change health behavior, and
(3) genomics, specifically epigenetic variation, may be influenced by health behavior.
The integration of genomics into research on interventions to change health behavior is not without challenges and will
certainly require transdisciplinary collaborative science to succeed. We provide specific action points for moving the
science forward to explore the extent to which genomic information can be harnessed to ultimately decrease morbidity
and mortality associated with unhealthy behavior.
[simplified + local cohesion] The role of genetics in changing of health behavior: challenges and opportunities.
The most common causes of disease and death in the western world can be explained by unhealthy patterns of behavior
(e.g. smoking, lifestyle with little activity, unhealthy diet, and drinking alcohol) and interventions to improve such health
behavior are badly needed. To fully realize the potential of these interventions, be they individual level, community
level, social structural, or policy-based, a greater understanding is required of the extent to which genetics can influence
efforts at changing health behavior.
In this commentary, we explore three relatively new possible roads to the integration of genetics and health behavior:
(1) genetics may influence health behavior indirectly through intermediate phenotypes. A phenotype is what a
person looks like as a result of their genes and their environment. This approach will require well-defined
theory-based and mechanistic models of health behavior,
(2) genetics may tone down the response to interventions to change health behavior,
(3) genes themselves may be affected by the health behavior, specifically epigenetic variation, which are gene
changes that remain during cell division but that do not change the gene sequence itself.
The integration of genetics into research on interventions to change health behavior is not without challenges and will
certainly require transdisciplinary collaborative science to be successful. We provide specific action points for moving
the science forward to explore the extent to which genetic information can be used and to at last reduce the number of
diseases and deaths associated with unhealthy behavior.