Recent advances in powerful tools such as genomics,metabolomics,and gut microbiome have offered new opportunities as well as challenges in the application of precision nutrition for the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes(T2D).The integration of such technologies into epidemiological studies,referred to as "systems epidemiology",can enhance our understanding of biological mechanisms underlying diet and human health.This approach can also enable us to achieve better assessment of diet and nutritional status in free-living populations by identifying novel biomarkers of dietary intakes.Nutritional genomics has identified genetic variants that influence intakes and metabolism of specific nutrients and predict individuals variability in response to dietary interventions.Metabolomics has revealed metabolomic fingerprints of food and nutrient consumption and has uncovered new metabolic pathways that are potentially modified by diet.In addition,dietary interventions have been shown to alter abundance,composition,and activity of gut microbiota that are relevant for food metabolism and glycemic control.By integrating these technologies with big data analytics,precision nutrition has the potential to provide personalized nutrition guidance to achieve more effective T2D prevention and management.Despite recent advances,major challenges still exist,including non-replication of study results,difficulty in translation of research findings into practice,and high cost.Although commercial companies have promoted personalized nutrition assessment and genetic testing,there is little evidence on the benefits of these approaches for improving diet and preventing disease.Therefore,it is essential to balance the investment in precision nutrition,which targets individual characteristics,with public health nutrition,which aims to improve the health of populations.