If you could have your children tested to see what kind of health issues they might face later in life, would you?  If given the chance, many parents would, according to new research.

But would they be accurate enough to tell if their kids would be genetically predisposed to diseases like diabetes or heart disease?

“These tests usually don’t offer a clean bill of health and can be hard to interpret even in the best scenario,” said Dr. Kenneth Tercyak of Georgetown University Medical Center, whose study was published in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers surveyed 219 parents who were offered a genetic test that looked for eight common health conditions including colon, skin and lung cancers; heart disease; high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

Parents answered questions about the risks and benefits of testing for their children and whether they were interested in having their child tested. Although there was no proof that testing has any use, parents were still interested in having their child tested – especially those who thought their child’s test result would be positive.

What if the test has a negative result?  This would cause needless panic and devastation for a family.

How accurate are these tests?  Direct-to-consumer genetic tests have already raised concerns.  Several companies sell tests online and are unlike genetic tests ordered by doctors, which is why regulators worry that parents may not understand the limitations of the tests.

Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have advised against genetic testing.

Would you really want to know if your healthy child is carrying a genetic predisposition for a serious illness?