Mediterranean diet and physical activity impact on metabolic syndrome among children and adolescents from Southern Italy: Contribution from the Calabrian Sierras Community Study (CSCS)

Abstract There is a growing recognition that social support can potentially exert consistent or opposing effects in influencing health behaviours. The present paper presents a cross-sectional study, including 2,064 adults from Italy, Spain and Greece, who were participants in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial (C4H study), aiming to examine whether social support is correlated with adherence to a healthy Mediterranean diet and physical activity. Social support data were available for 1,572 participants. The majority of the sample reported emotional support availability (84·5 %), financial support availability (72·6 %) and having one or more close friends (78·2 %). Mediterranean diet adherence was significantly associated with emotional support (P = 0·009) and social network support (P = 0·021). No statistically significant associations were found between participant physical activity and the social support aspects studied. In conclusion, emotional and social network support may be associated with increased adherence to the Mediterranean diet. However, further research is needed to evaluate the role of social support in adherence to healthy Mediterranean diet.

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Abstract P088: Obesity, Hypertension and Insulin Resistance in a Primary Pediatric Setting in Southern Italy

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.129.suppl_1.p088 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 129 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Giampaolo De Filippo ◽

Domenico Rendina ◽

Domenico Viggiano ◽

Antonio Fasolino ◽

Paola Sabatini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Insulin Resistance ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Body Weight ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Diagnostic Criteria ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Serum Insulin ◽

High Density Lipoproteins ◽

Obese Children ◽

Campania Region

Background: Obesity is the main risk factor for essential hypertension (EH) in childhood. The O.Si.Me. study (Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in children and adolescents) evaluated the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its constitutive traits in a sample of obese children and adolescents living in Campania, southern Italy. Patients and methods: Four hundred and fifteen children and adolescents consecutively referred to the National Health Service participating Outpatient Clinics for minor health problems and found to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) Z-score > 2.0 were enrolled in the study. The entire sample was screened for MetS, which was defined as the presence of at least 2 of the following alterations in addition to obesity: fasting hyperglycemia, low levels of high-density lipoproteins cholesterol, hypertriglyceridemia, and EH. The present analysis evaluated the clinical characteristics of the O.Si.Me subgroup of EH participants (systolic and/or diastolic BP ≥ 95 th percentile for age, gender and height) as compared with normotensive participants. Results: The prevalence of EH in the O.Si.Me population was 23.6 % (98/415, 48M and 50F.) and two-thirds of the EH participants met the MetS diagnostic criteria. The EH participants featured serum insulin and HOMA-IR levels significantly higher compared with normotensive ones (11.6±0.6 vs. 9.5±0.4 μIU/ml, p = 0.014; 2.6±0.1 vs. 2.2±0.1, p = 0.028 for insulin and HOMA-IR, respectively). These differences were common to boys and girls and remained significant after correction for age, pubertal stage, body weight, length, BMI, gestational age at birth, duration of breastfeeding and anthropometric parental parameters. Accordingly, children and adolescents with EH had a a relative risk of being insulin resistant (defined as a HOMA-IR ≥2.5) significantly greater compared to those without. Moreover, they exhibited higher serum creatinine levels (53.8±7.1 vs. 35.4±6.8 μmol/l, p=0.025) accounting for gender and body weight. Conclusions: More than a quarter of obese children and adolescents meet the diagnostic criteria for EH in the Campania region in southern Italy. These obese boys and girls have an increased prevalence of insulin resistance and apparently an initial reduction in renal function compared with obese children and adolescents with normal BP.

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Mediterranean diet, physical activity and ideal body weight, all wanting in Spanish children and adolescents

Clínica e Investigación en Arteriosclerosis (English Edition) ◽

10.1016/j.artere.2019.02.001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 23-25

Author(s):

Emilio Ros

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Body Weight ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Ideal Body Weight ◽

Ideal Body

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Sustained adherence to a Mediterranean diet and physical activity on all-cause mortality in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study: application of the g-formula

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-019-7919-2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth J. Williamson ◽

Julia Polak ◽

Julie A. Simpson ◽

Graham G. Giles ◽

Dallas R. English ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Dietary Patterns ◽

Relative Importance ◽

High Physical Activity ◽

Diet And Physical Activity ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background Adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet has been associated with lower mortality and cardiovascular disease risk. The relative importance of diet compared to other lifestyle factors and effects of dietary patterns over time remains unknown. Methods We used the parametric G-formula to account for time-dependent confounding, in order to assess the relative importance of diet compared to other lifestyle factors and effects of dietary patterns over time. We included healthy Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study participants attending a visit during 1995–1999. Questionnaires assessed diet and physical activity at each of three study waves. Deaths were identified by linkage to national registries. We estimated mortality risk over approximately 14 years (1995–2011). Results Of 22,213 participants, 2163 (9.7%) died during 13.6 years median follow-up. Sustained high physical activity and adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet resulted in an estimated reduction in all-cause mortality of 1.82 per 100 people (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.03, 3.6). The population attributable fraction was 13% (95% CI: 4, 23%) for sustained high physical activity, 7% (95% CI: − 3, 17%) for sustained adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet and 18% (95% CI: 0, 36%) for their combination. Conclusions A small reduction in mortality may be achieved by sustained elevated physical activity levels in healthy middle-aged adults, but there may be comparatively little gain from increasing adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet.

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Determinants of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Study in Women from Southern Italy

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16162963 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (16) ◽

pp. 2963 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Andrea Maugeri ◽

Martina Barchitta ◽

Valerio Fiore ◽

Giuliana Rosta ◽

Giuliana Favara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Multivariable Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mediterranean Populations ◽

Behavioral Determinants ◽

The Mediterranean

The Mediterranean diet (MD)—the dietary pattern usually consumed by Mediterranean populations—can help promote a favorable health status and better quality of life. Uncovering the main factors associated with the adherence to MD may be useful in understanding and counteracting the global shift toward a Western diet, which has been documented also in the Mediterranean region. Here, we evaluated the adherence to MD and its major social and behavioral determinants in women from Catania, Southern Italy. This cross-sectional study included 841 women, aged 25–64 years, with no history of severe diseases. Adherence to MD was assessed by the Food Frequency Questionnaire and Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Associations between variables were tested by multivariable logistic regression analysis and expressed as an odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Among social factors, medium and high educational levels were associated with an ideal intake of alcohol (OR = 4.059; 95%CI = 1.311–12.570; p = 0.015; OR = 4.258 95%CI = 1.068–16.976; p = 0.040; respectively), living in a couple with ideal intake of cereals (OR = 2.801 95%CI = 1.188–6.602; p = 0.018), and having children with an ideal intake of fruits (OR = 3.149; 95%CI = 1.245–7.762; p = 0.015). With respect to behaviors, current smoking was negatively associated with an ideal intake of meat (OR = 0.449; 95%CI = 0.0220–0.917; p = 0.028), while more engagement in physical activity was associated with an ideal intake of vegetables (OR = 6.148; 95%CI = 1.506–25.104; p = 0.011) and legumes (OR = 5.832; 95%CI = 1.414–24.063; p = 0.015). In line with these findings, moderately or highly physically active women were more likely to show medium or high adherence to MD than those who performed less physical activity (OR = 6.024; 95%CI = 1.192–30.440; p = 0.040; OR = 9.965 95%CI = 1.683–58.993; p = 0.011; respectively). Our results confirm an urgent need for public health strategies, which should take into account determinants of diet quality. Particularly, our study indicates that more engagement in physical activity is a major positive determinant of the adherence to MD.

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