Abstract: Research indicates that personalized nutrition (PN) approaches can help drive behavior change and have a positive impact on health outcomes. This has led to a growing number of personalized nutrition programs available on the market, which utilize various forms of individual-level information to provide services and products to consumers. The lack of a widely accepted definition of personalized nutrition, as well as established guiding principles for its implementation, presents obstacles to establishing its credibility and effectiveness. To address these issues, the North American branch of the International Life Sciences Institute convened a multidisciplinary panel of experts. This paper proposes a definition of personalized nutrition: "Personalized nutrition uses evidence-based, individual-specific information to promote dietary behavior change, which may lead to measurable health benefits." Furthermore, it proposes ten guiding principles for personalized nutrition approaches: 1) Define potential users and beneficiaries; 2) Use validated diagnostic methods and measurement tools; 3) Ensure data quality and relevance; 4) Provide data-driven recommendations based on validated models and algorithms; 5) Design personalized nutrition studies around validated individual health or functional needs and outcomes; 6) Provide rigorous scientific evidence regarding health or functional impacts; 7) Provide user-friendly tools; 8) For healthy populations, align with population-based recommendations; 9) Communicate potential impacts transparently; and 10) Protect personal data privacy and act responsibly. These principles aim to establish a responsible methodological foundation for evidence-based research and practice in nutritional intervention (PN) and serve as an invitation for further public dialogue. The study notes that for nutritional interventions to continue gaining acceptance, several challenges remain, including defining the health-disease continuum, identifying biomarkers, navigating the evolving regulatory environment, ensuring accessibility, and measuring success criteria. Although personalized nutrition approaches hold great promise for the future of public health, further research is needed on the accuracy of dietary intake measurements, the application and standardization of systematic approaches, and the application and dissemination of evidence.
