Xcode Life Sciences, a biotechnology start-up, is now ready to offer Lifelong Wellness, a scientific, personalized wellness programme for individuals based on a DNA analysis of a saliva sample. This is a part of the preventive healthcare initiative by the company. The Lifelong Wellness kit will help to identify an individual’s predispositions to lifestyle disorders such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and stroke, through a simple genetic assessment which is then succeeded by personalized nutrition, diet and exercise regimen to help combat the onset of the disease.

Being the first-of-its kind in India, Lifelong Wellness combines the power of genomics, nutrition and fitness to help combat lifestyle disorders. The program additionally uses the latest collection of markers (a gene or DNA sequence with a known location on a chromosome) to calculate an individual’s predisposition to a disease. With this insight, Lifelong Wellness serves as a starting point for people to lead a healthier lifestyle with personalized recommendations by its panel of experts.

Dr Saleem Mohammed, CEO and co-founder, Xcode Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. said, “The healthcare market in India has undergone a paradigm shift where preventive options are the need of the hour. Non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular and diabetes should be given increased attention as they are a direct result of lifestyle disorders that can be attributed to lack of physical exercise, obesity and eating junk food. With the Lifelong Wellness program, individuals can now understand their body and address its pressing needs before it’s too late.”

According to a survey released by the national programme for prevention and control of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and stroke (NPCDCS), where 75 lakh people were screened across the country, 11 per cent of the total population living in urban areas of the country, including Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata, were suspected to be suffering from diabetes.

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, India had 62.4 million people with type 2 diabetes in 2011, compared with 50.8 million in 2010. The nationwide prevalence of diabetes in India now tops nine per cent, and is as high as 20 per cent in the relatively prosperous southern cities like Triuvandapuram, Coimbatore and then Bengaluru. By 2030, IDF predicts, India will have 100 million people with diabetes.

Xcode’s Lifelong Wellness programme will provide knowledge of one’s risk to such chronic diseases and equip and individual to minimize these risks through nutrition and lifestyle changes, thereby reducing the national prevalence of such diseases.

The programme has six components covering Life Sight which gives a Genetic Profile. Life Food is a Personalized Nutrition for lifelong wellness. Life Fit is a personalized fitness program for optimal health and longer life. Life Track is a Personal Health log. Wellness on Mobile is a 90 day, daily message service to motivate users to lifelong wellness. Life Basics is a practical health tip that last a lifetime to use it anywhere, anytime and Life Digest which are latest updates to stay ahead in a global community.

Dr Dharini Krishnan, chairperson, Registered Dietitian Board of the Indian Dietetic Association, which received the first Lifelong Wellness kit, said, “The key to wellness today, lies in the relationship between our diet and our body. Many common diseases and their symptoms can often be prevented or alleviated with better nutrition.”

The Lifelong Wellness program is priced at Rs. 7999 per assessment for each lifestyle disorder. A value option is also available for Rs. 9999 where one can get analysed for all four lifestyle disorders.

Chennai based Xcode, was started in 2010 by Dr Saleem Mohammed. The company was first incubated in VIT-TBI, Vellore and its portfolio spans across bioinformatics, genomics and statistics.