Current knowledge and interest of French Canadians regarding nutrigenetics

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to draw a global portrait of the current knowledge and interest regarding nutrigenetics in a population of French Canadians from the province of Quebec (Canada). METHODS: A total of 2238 residents from the province of Quebec, Canada, were recruited via social networks and from the Laval University employee/student lists to participate in a 37-question online survey on nutrigenetics. RESULTS: Most participants were not familiar with the term “nutrigenetics” (82.7%). Participants with good genetic literacy (26.8%) were less interested in nutrigenetic testing (p < 0.0001). The vast majority of participants (90.7%) reported to be willing to follow a personalised diet based on nutrigenetic testing, especially if they came to know themselves as carriers of a polymorphism increasing the risk of certain diseases. Participants had a higher interest in testing related to metabolic response to macronutrients (types of sugars, fats and proteins) than to micronutrients or other nutrients related to food intolerance. CONCLUSIONS: The attitude of French Canadians about nutrigenetics is very consistent with the results from other surveys published in the literature. Although few individuals are familiar with nutrigenetics, the public’s attitude towards nutrigenetics is globally favourable. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12263-019-0629-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.