| Parameters | Athletigen | Xcode Life |
| Type of genetic testing | DNA Kit and DNA raw data analysis | DNA raw data analysis DNA Kits in select countries |
| Ancestry reports | Not offered | Offered in select countries |
| Health reports | Not offered | Offered |
| Pharmacogenomic reports | Not offered | Offered |
| Raw data upload | Only from 23andMe, and AncestryDNA | DNA raw data from all major providers accepted. Comprehensive list |
| Number of reports | 5 (with overlapping traits) | 10 |
| Report Updates | No | Quarterly |
| Price | $19.99-$174.99 | Reports: $30-$50 Bundles: $160-$199 Price details |
| Sample reports | Available as PDF | Available as detailed report walkthrough videos |
About the Company
Athletigen is a sports genetic testing company founded by Jeremy Koenig in 2014. It is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a city in Canada.
It caters to individual athletes, professionals, as well as sequence owners.
They provide personalized DNA analysis and recommendations to boost your nutritional wellbeing, performance, and athletic ability.
The Athletigen team aims to help elite athletes boost their performance with the help of DNA analysis.
Important Note
Athletigen has announced the temporary discontinuation of their DNA testing. The last day to access the account and reports is February 28, 2021.
Athletigen Services & Products
Athletigen extends its services to:
- Sequence Owners
- Individual Clients
- Expert Professionals
- Innovation Labs
- Corporations
Nutrition Report
This report contains information on how your genes influence the response of your body to certain nutrients in the diet.
It provides insights into 40 nutritional traits, including some vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients.
Fitness/Athletic Report
This report aims to optimize your training using DNA analysis. It provides insights into 40 traits related to physical fitness.
Wellness Report
This report helps you identify the underlying genetic cause of certain health conditions. It provides information about your health risk to enable you to make necessary lifestyle changes to improve your overall health and wellbeing.
Review of Athletigen Reports
Fitness / Athletic report
The athletic report includes 40 traits and analyzes over 75 genetic variants.
The following topics are covered in the report:
The following topics are covered in the report:
Endurance – Provides information on how genes influence our body’s aerobic efficiency, which in turn decides our endurance ability.
Power vs. Endurance – Helps identify whether you are a better power responder (better at activities like sprinting) or an endurance responder (better at activities like marathon running)
Speed and Power – Provides insights into anthropometrics (measurements and proportions of the human body) and how it reflects in training efforts.
Other Training Influencers – Gives information on genes that influence factors like body temperature and caffeine sensitivity that could impact overall performance.
Injury Risks – Helps understand the role of genes in injury risks and provides training recommendations to prevent injuries.
Strength and Hypertrophy – Gives insights into how genes impact muscle strength (strength) & muscle growth (hypertrophy).
Exercise Recovery – Enables you to design an optimal recovery time according to your genetic makeup.
Sleep Hygiene – Provides information on genes that impact sleep quality & pattern, and thereby sports performance.
Endocrine System – Helps to learn about genes that impact the functioning of the endocrine system and hormone levels.
Sports Psychology – Helps to understand how genes influence mental performance.
Walkthrough of the report
The report begins with the summary of your results tabulated under the section called “Overview of Your Report.”
The table has the following information:
- Trait name
- Outcome
- Icon
- Recommendation
Each page contains detailed information on a specific fitness trait.
- Trait name
- Your Outcome
- Scientific Confidence Grade
- Percentage of the population with your variant
- Recommendations
- Gene Summary
Nutrition Report
This report includes information on how your genes influence the absorption and metabolism of various vitamins and minerals. It analyzes 100 genetic markers and includes 30 traits. The following report topics are included:
- Vitamins – Gives insights into how genes influence your body’s response to vitamins.
- Minerals – Helps you understand how genes influence your body’s response to major minerals like calcium, sodium, and magnesium.
- Macronutrients – Enables you to come up with an ideal macro breakup according to your genetic makeup.
- Sensitivities – Helps you identify your genetic risk for certain food allergies and intolerances.
Walkthrough of the Report
The report begins with the summary of your results tabulated under the section called “Overview of Your Report.” It summarizes your outcomes for all the vitamins.
The table has the following information:
- Trait name
- Outcome
- Icon
- Recommendation
Each page contains detailed information on a specific nutrition trait.
- Trait name
- Your Outcome
- Scientific Confidence Grade
- Percentage of the population with your variant
- Recommendations
- About the Trait
- Gene Summary
Wellness Report
This report aims to provide information on the genetic risk of various health conditions so that the risk can be modified through lifestyle changes and preventive tests.
The following topics are covered in the report:
Aging Health: Tips to age better with information on progressive eyesight loss, hearing loss, sun damage, and how your diet can help fight harmful chemicals in the environment and food.
Bone Health: Gives a genetic perspective to injury risks
Joint Health: Information on how your daily activities along with your genetic makeup can put you at risk for still and sore joints.
Metabolic Health: Information on how your genetic makeup influences fat transport and usage
Vitamins and Minerals: Reveals how your genes respond to various vitamins and minerals in your diet
Muscular Health: Gives a genetic perspective on physical fitness
Sensitivities: Gives insights into your genetic risk for food sensitivities
Sleep Health: Information on how your genes influence sleep quality and requirement
Image: All traits in the wellness report
Walkthrough of the Report
The report begins with the summary of your results tabulated under the section called “Overview of Your Report.” It summarizes your outcomes for all the vitamins.
The table has the following information:
- Trait name
- Outcome
- Icon
- Recommendation
Each page contains detailed information on a specific nutrition trait.
- Trait name
- Your Outcome
- Scientific Confidence Grade
- Percentage of the population with your variant
- Recommendations
- About the Trait
- Gene Summary
Other than the three primary reports, they also offer
- Welcome report
- Nutrition heritage report
Welcome Report
The Welcome Report serves as a preview of Atheltigen’s products and services. It provides users a broad overview of what Athletigen’s apps can do for you. The report analyzes over 40 genetic markers and includes 19 traits.
- Endurance Ability
- Lactate Threshold Trainability
- Power Performance
- Age-Related Strength Loss
- Tendon Injury
- Ligament Injury
- Fracture Risk and Bone Mineral Density
- Osteoarthritis Risk
- Vitamin B9 (Folate)
- B12 Levels
- Vitamin D Levels
- Iron Metabolism
- Fat Metabolism
- Lactose Sensitivity
- Caffeine Sensitivity
Walkthrough of the Report
The report starts with an introduction section which has a couple of basic genetic definitions and concepts jotted down.
It is followed by a how to read your report section.
It includes the information on one trait from each report category:
- Speed and Power from Fitness Report
- Vitamins from Nutrition Report
- Exercise Recovery from Athletic Report
- Sleep Health from Wellness Report
Nutrition Heritage report
This report gives information about how certain genetic changes that are passed across generations affect nutritional profiles. It’s been divided into three sections – Fuel, Perform and Restore.
Walkthrough of the Report
The fuel section includes information on vitamin B12 and vitamin D levels.
The perform section examines your response to endurance training and your risk for ligament injury.
The restore section gives your insights into your post-exercise recovery time and sleep performance.
Getting Started with Athletigen
You can avail Athletigen’s report in 2 ways:
Uploading your DNA raw data
There is an option to upload DNA raw data from 23andMe or AncestryDNA and pay only for DNA analysis.
Buying the DNA kit
The DNA kit consists of a cheek swab which is used to collect a DNA sample. You can collect the sample and ship it to a US-based lab. Results take 6-8 weeks to arrive after the swab is received at the lab. Â
Update
The “Get DNA kit” link on the website is non-functional as of May 26, 2023. So, they may have stopped shipping DNA kits.
Athletigen Pricing (Without DNA Kits)
This is in affiliation with sequencing.com
- Nutrition report – $69.99Â
- Wellness report – $59.99
Atheltigen Privacy
The Athletigen privacy policy seems to be a little bit on the weaker side. The website mentions that “self-reported information, including ethnicity, family history, medical conditions, etc., are accessible to third parties.”
Every user has access to their DNA raw data and can request to delete the information from Athletigen’s database at any time.
Upon a written request from the user, Athletigen will close your account and delete your genetic information.
Athletigen Reviews
Customer Reviews in DNAtestingchoice: 3.5/5
Athletigen: Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free DNA raw data upload from 23andMe and Ancestry DNA
- Easy process and provides detailed reports with scientific explanations
- Personalized recommendations to provide fitness, health & nutrition
Cons
- The traits analyzed in different reports are overlapping each other.
- Privacy policies are not so straightforward and a bit tricky. Need a thorough understanding before getting started.
- No recent reviews
