Food sensitivity tests are not a useful tool for diagnosing or treating obesity or other pathologies: Position Paper of the Revision, Study and Positioning Group of the Spanish Association of Dieticians-Nutritionists (GREP-AEDN)

In the face of the growing use of weight-losing strategies as an alternative to conventional methods, the Revision, Study and Positioning Group of the Spanish Association of Dieticians-Nutritionists (GREP-AEDN) has decided to analyse these methods and to provide information on the degree of effi cacy, reliability and/or risk involved in their use, specifi cally of the Food Sensitivity Tests. By means of this document, the GREP-AEDN advises against the use of these tests based on blood tests as diagnostic evidence for treating obesity, as well as for detecting possible allergies and/or food intolerances. This position is based on the fact that neither these tests nor the dietary treatments prescribed following their results have been validated by the scientifi c community. Furthermore, by revising the positions of the most important clinical societies in the fi eld of allergology and immunology, as well as the scientifi c studies on the matter mentioned in this document, the GREP-AEDN considers that undergoing the dietary treatment resulting from the results of these tests (mainly characterised by the restriction of food items) not only means a waste of money, but it can entail health hazards.