NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Counseling people about their personal risk of diabetes based on their genes may not motivate them to take steps to prevent the blood sugar disease, a new study suggests.
Overweight and obese research participants lost the same amount of weight and were similarly dedicated to a diabetes-prevention program whether they learned their genes put them at high or low risk - or when they hadn't been counseled at all.
"It's very, very hard to change behavior," said lead researcher Dr. Richard Grant, now at Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland.
"The idea that a number, whether it's a genetic number or anything, will have a big impact on changing people's behavior - it just won't work."
Researchers have predicted that people who learn they are at extra-high risk of diabetes might be more motivated to change their lifestyle, and patient surveys support that idea.
But there is also the concern that those at low genetic risk will get a false sense of reassurance and believe that eating a healthy diet and exercising aren't important for them.
To examine those theories, Grant and his colleagues tested middle-aged adults at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for 36 genetic markers known to be linked to type 2 diabetes. Forty-two people with the highest genetic risk and 32 with the lowest risk then went to a brief counseling session about those findings.
After counseling, the researchers started people on both ends of the risk spectrum on a 12-week group diet and exercise education program, along with another 34 people who had never had their genes tested.
Over the course of the program, participants lost an average of 8.5 pounds, and just under one-third of them lost at least five percent of their initial body weight. There was no difference in weight loss among people with high or low genetic risk - nor was there a difference in participants' motivation to prevent diabetes or how closely they stuck to the program schedule.
"Even though people have the intent and they think genetic information will have an impact, when you actually look at their behavior to reduce their risk of diabetes we didn't see any differences," Grant told Reuters Health.
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Study: Genetic counseling about diabetes risk doesn’t change behavior