The Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH) program, supported by the All of Us Research Program, was launched by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to look into how biological variations impact how people react to food. NPH plans to sign up 10,000 participants from various backgrounds and use AI to create predictive models for individualized nutritional advice. The study will fill in any gaps in the current dietary guidelines and offer information on how individuals should approach nutrition. Researchers will have access to the data, which will improve studies on nutrition and health.
The All of Us Research Program is the driving force behind the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) ground-breaking Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH) initiative. NPH’s main objective is to investigate how biological variations affect people’s responses to food and dietary habits. NPH plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to analyze data and create predictive models by enrolling 10,000 participants from various backgrounds across 14 sites in the United States. These models have the potential to offer individualized nutritional advice, assisting clinicians in customizing dietary suggestions based on each person’s particular requirements.
Holly Nicastro, Ph.D., the coordinator of NPH, emphasized the importance of the study in understanding individual responses to food, as our bodies react differently to various dietary choices. Nicastro stated, “Through this study, we are looking to better understand differences in individual responses and pave the way for more tailored guidelines in the future.” While nutrition plays a vital role in preventing and treating chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, existing dietary recommendations often follow a generalized approach, overlooking individual biological differences. NPH aims to bridge this gap by focusing on precision nutrition, which takes into account factors such as genes, health history, gut microbiome, lifestyle, and social determinants of health (SDOH) to provide more personalized dietary recommendations.
Geoffrey Ginsburg, MD, Ph.D., the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of All of Us, highlighted the potential of NPH in advancing our understanding of nutrition and health. By utilizing the extensive infrastructure and platform of the All of Us Research Program, NPH distinguishes itself from other nutrition studies through its scale and diversity. The data collected through NPH will be made available in the Researcher Workbench, an All of Us data platform, enabling researchers to access and explore various data types, thereby advancing the field of nutrition and health.
NPH comprises three study components, with participant involvement varying across each component. In the first component, all NPH participants will complete surveys, report their daily diets, and provide urine, stool, and blood samples for microbiome analysis and other laboratory tests. The second and third components involve subsets of the NPH cohort being assigned specific diets selected by researchers. One subset will be asked to reside in a research center while following the assigned diets, while the other subset will continue their regular daily routines. Additionally, all NPH participants will undergo meal challenge tests, which aim to measure biological changes after consuming a standardized meal or drink provided by the study.
To enrich the study’s findings, data from NPH will be linked to participants’ information from the All of Us Research Program, which includes genomic and electronic health record (EHR) data. Participants will receive interpreted information about their health, including details about diet composition, metabolism, body fat percentage, and microbiome makeup. Furthermore, NPH data will be accessible to researchers through the Researcher Workbench, empowering further investigations into health and precision nutrition.
The launch of NPH represents a significant step forward in unraveling the intricate relationship between nutrition and individual health. By harnessing the power of AI, enrolling a diverse cohort, and incorporating a precision approach, NPH has the potential to revolutionize dietary recommendations, paving the way for personalized nutrition guidance and improved health outcomes.
