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Exercise- and Meta-type

The genetic metabolic analysis MetaCheck determines four by CoGAP® defined meta-types: Alpha (α) , Beta (β) , Gamma (γ) and Delta (δ). Each Meta-type digests the macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats ) differently. This way we can recommend the diet type which is likely to work best for you.

Each of the Meta-types has two exercise variants. The endurance variant (E) is characterized by especially high caloric consumption during endurance activities such as jogging, swimming and bicycle riding, whereas the speed variant (S) shows higher caloric consumption during speed-type sports activities such as Body Pump®, aerobics and strength training.

Meta-types


The Meta-type “Alpha” is distinguished by a better processing of protein-rich food. When designing a weight loss diet for this Meta-type, the proportion of carbohydrate-rich and fat-containing foods should be reduced.


Unlike the Meta-type “Alpha”, the Meta-type “Beta” processes both fats and proteins well and thus, for weight reduction, it is especially important to focus on a low-carbohydrate diet.


Unlike either the Meta-type “Alpha” or “Beta”, the Meta-type “Gamma” processes carbo-hydrates better. In the context of a weight reduction diet, the proportion of protein-rich and fat-containing foods should thus be reduced.


The Meta-type “Delta” is distinguished by the fact that it metabolizes both carbohydrate-rich and fat-containing foods well. Accordingly, for a diet aimed at weight reduction, it is important to focus on limiting the proportion of protein-rich foods.

Performance types

Each of the Meta-types has two exercise variants. The endurance variant (E) is characterized by especially high caloric consumption during endurance activities such as jogging, swimming and bicycle riding, whereas the speed variant (S) shows higher caloric con-sumption during speed-type sports activities such as BodyPump, aerobics and strength training.

Choice of the metabolic genes that are tested

The CoGAP MetaCheck® analysis involves a complex calculation of interactions, for which only those metabolic genes are considered that meet certain criteria.

These specifically include metabolic genes

  • that are involved in the weight control system,
  • whose effects on the body can be positively affected by change in diet or behavior and
  • that are expressed differently in different individuals.

Distribution of CoGAP Meta-Types

In a 2017 study, the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences and the Center for Genetic Analysis and Prognosis investigated the distribution of CoGAP Meta-types in the European population. To achieve the highest significance for the study, the anonymized data of 16,641 randomly selected MetaCheck results from different European regions were used. The results show that the four different Meta-types Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta are relatively evenly distributed in the population (Fig. I), while there are significant differences in the exercise variants E and S (Fig. II). Figure III shows the distribution of different Meta-type and exercise variant combinations.


Fig. I

Fig. II

Fig. III

Read more about the scientific background of MetaCheck®


[1] Geibel R. C. et al., (2017) Analysis of the distribution of metabolic types (meta-types) in the European population and their association with Demographic data; International Journal of Current Research, 9, (11); 60257-60262.

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