Precision Nutrition for Obesity and Prediabetes Prevention in Under-supported Communities

Obesity and prediabetes are major public health concerns and disproportionately affect under-supported populations, including African American and Hispanic/Latino communities. Traditional nutrition interventions often use a one-size-fits-all approach and may not adequately account for individual variability in biological, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence health outcomes. Precision nutrition is an emerging approach that tailors nutrition recommendations to individual characteristics such as dietary intake, physical activity, health status, genotype, phenotype, psychosocial influences, and environmental exposures. Advances in nutrition science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning have created opportunities to integrate these factors and deliver more personalized dietary and lifestyle recommendations. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a culturally sensitive precision nutrition intervention can improve obesity and type 2 diabetes risk factors among African American and Hispanic/Latino adults living in Texas. The study will recruit adults aged 18 to 65 years with overweight, obesity, and/or prediabetes. Participants will be randomized to either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group will receive tailored nutrition counseling, individualized meal planning, physical activity guidance, behavior-change education, and access to a mobile-health platform to support healthy lifestyle modification. The intervention will incorporate motivational interviewing techniques and social support resources. The control group will receive standard nutrition counseling and educational materials. Data collection will occur at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. Measures will include sociodemographic information, dietary intake, food security, anthropometric and body composition assessments, physical activity, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C, lipid profile, genetic markers, gut microbiome measures, inflammatory markers, and cognitive assessments. Qualitative interviews and focus group discussions will be used to explore participant experiences and intervention acceptability. Primary outcomes include changes in body weight, diet quality, and fasting blood glucose. Secondary outcomes include changes in hemoglobin A1C, body composition, blood pressure, lipid profile, physical activity levels, feasibility, acceptability, compliance, and sustainability of intervention effects. Findings from this study will provide preliminary evidence regarding the effectiveness and feasibility of precision nutrition approaches for obesity and diabetes prevention in under-supported populations.