"You may feel a responsibility to change your lifestyle on the basis of your results, without the help of a doctor to interpret the ambiguous risk statistics. You may feel a responsibility to inform family members, insurers or potential employers of your risks, even though you may never develop the conditions in question," added Professor Rose.

To make these recommendations, the Working Party weighed up whether the need to reduce harm was strong enough to propose interventions that compromised people's freedom to pursue their own interests.

The report also considers another so-called personalised healthcare service - direct-to-consumer CT, MRI and ultrasound body scans as a form of 'health check-up' for people without pre-existing symptoms, a service which some companies offer at a cost of more than -1,000.

CT scans carry serious physical risks from the radiation involved, especially if whole body scans are used, and carried out on repeated occasions.

The Council says that the commercial sale of whole body CT scans as a health check for people without prior symptoms of illness should be banned, as any potential benefits do not justify the potential harms caused by the radiation. It also suggests that companies offering scans as part of a health check should be regulated to ensure they are meeting standards of quality and safety.

The Council recommends that doctors should receive specific training on giving advice to patients about direct-to-consumer genetic profiling and body imaging services, and about making referral decisions on the basis of these tests.

Source: Nuffield Council on Bioethics