Is personalised wellness the key to living longer?

Once upon a time, eating your ‘5 a day’ (the UK government-backed campaign to reinforce the importance of nutrient-rich foods) and fitting in a semi-regular jogging session felt like enough. Now? Darling, don’t you want to live forever? Step it up! Alongside witnessing a boom in extreme biohackers (TLDR: millionaire YouTubers spending thousands trying to reverse biological ageing through hundreds of daily supplements, intense diet regimes, fitness and...plasma infusions), us Average Joannes are also becoming increasingly drawn to personalised approaches when it comes to health. Something that the wellness set has dubbed as achieving ‘optimal’ health—in order to lengthen our ‘longevity’.

But what are these shiny new alternatives that demand data to create your plan? Is this the death of ‘one-size-fits-all’ fitness guidance? I decided to trial three contenders for three weeks each to learn more...

What: A DNA workout 

Tell me more: The brainchild of Samantha Decombel, a genetics scientist as well as co-founder/CEO of FitnessGenes (a UK-based a direct-to-consumer DNA testing company) involves spitting in a tube in exchange for reports promising to ‘unlock’ information about your insides—and tips on how to hack any hurdles. It also takes lifestyle factors into account. After all, genes respond to the environment we build around them. Initially, the company targeted bodybuilders wanting to better understand their specific muscle-related markers and which training programmes they’d likely bulk best with (e.g. optimal number of workouts a week and reps vs rest time). Now, FitnessGenes measures more than 150 traits, from your natural sleep cycle to whether you have ‘endurance’ gene variants associated with being an Olympic level sprinter (shockingly...I do. Shame I despise running). 

How did it go? 

My results confirmed I’m a night owl, most likely to be ‘alert’ after 10am, and therefore should exercise in the afternoon or early evening. As my genetic profile is also linked to benefiting most from moderate-long rest periods between sets, I also focused on timing two-minute pauses between moves. FitnessGenes advised my best shot at getting hench would be working out four times a week and upping the number of reps I do in the gym. I gave its ‘hero’ plan a go, which incorporates all this info, and was hooked. PBs were smashed and I finally dropped my weight on the assisted pull-up machine, having plateaued for months. I was proud of my hand calluses. There’s no denying FitnessGenes helped me get stronger. Equally, it recommended I lift more frequently than ever, so could it have been down to that rather than tapping into my genes? Also, while the team happily responded to queries, FitnessGenes doesn’t offer an expert follow-up chat, so I was left with a lot of questions. One report said I’m at ‘high risk’ of coronary artery disease and among the advice given was to eat oily fish (I’m vegetarian), up my garlic intake, and perform resistance exercises three times a week. Instead, I spent the day panicking about my demise. Maybe we can know too much about ourselves?

What: The blood-type diet 

Tell me more: Spawned from Peter D’Adamo’s 1996 book Eat Right 4 Your Type and resurfaced thanks to TikTok, the diet claims different blood groups respond better or more poorly to certain food groups and exercises, thanks to our varied stomach acid levels and ancestors’ diets. 

How did it go? 

After learning my blood type (A) favours a vegetarian diet, I became curious—I’ve shunned meat for 20 years. Could there be something in it? Dr D’Adamo’s theory is that As have lower levels of stomach acids to digest meat (but O-types should go all in). Instead, I should fill my plate with soy-based products, greens, pumpkin seeds and, err, little else. Restrictive is an understatement: banished were tomatoes, pineapples, peppers, dairy, most breads and the rest of a long list. On the exercise front, it was bye-bye weights and hello yoga, tai chi, and Pilates. Hmm.

This plan was killer. Really, how could I thrive on something that makes me feel guilty for unknowingly buying a salad that contains chickpeas (also banned)? Plus, the science is largely unsubstantiated. While several studies do link a few diseases to specific blood types, I also knew this life wasn’t for me. Everything in moderation, as they say, and knowing moderately less about my blood type is my new calling. I bailed after 12 days, but have stuck to having soya milk in my coffee...which I guess is something.

What: (Very) personal training

Tell me more: From playing memory games to testing my blood sugar levels and being strapped into a VO2 max measuring device on a treadmill, personal training group HAWQ (Health and Wellbeing Quotient) go in-depth when it comes to client assessments. After observing your metrics and discussing your lifestyle habits, it provides you with a score out of 1,000 based on five core pillars: sleep, body, movement, nutrition, and mind. Mine was 632, which, I’m told, isn’t bad. But it certainly could be better.

How did it go? 

After my consultation, when I explained I’d like to boost my core strength and lower my resting heart rate, my trainer, Livvy, who is available to DM at any time on the app, built me a personalised plan. While HAWQ has one London studio, it’s not nationwide—so a lot of the advice was to be self-implemented. HAWQ also set me a calorie allowance (along with a daily protein, carbs, and fat target) and there are demo videos and recipes on the app. With my heart health goal in mind, Livvy suggested I increase my steady state cardio (an activity such as rowing or dancing where your heart rate averages 120bpm), which saw me dust off my lockdown trampoline. Overall, given the ability to tweak the plan to fit your lifestyle, I’d rate HAWQ as my favourite. As for my resting heart rate? It’s dropped by 3bpm since trialling the programme and carrying on a few of its tips. We love to see it!

All images: Getty Images

This article originally appeared in Cosmo India's September-October 2024 issue.

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