There is growing evidence of the dietary impact on obesity-induced low-grade chronic inflammation and the associated chronic non-communicable diseases modification. We determined changes in body ...composition and cardiometabolic and inflammatory status of participants with obesity after 24 weeks of a dietary intervention based on an energy-reduced anti-inflammatory diet and examined the relationship of these changes with changes in the inflammatory potential of the diet. The anthropometric and body composition parameters of 81 participants (average age of 43 years, 74 women) were assessed. Metabolic status was determined using the glycemic and lipid statuses, and the cardiometabolic index and inflammatory status were determined using the concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). The inflammatory potential of the diet was assessed using the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII
). Intervention with an anti-inflammatory diet resulted in a significant reduction in body weight and visceral adipose tissue and caused improvements in the participants' cardiometabolic and inflammatory statuses. The anti-inflammatory diet was shown to be effective regarding obesity management. The study data could advance current scientific knowledge in the field of inflammation and diet, provide guidelines for obesity management, and find its application in routine clinical practice.
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic altered adults’ and children’s lifestyles and habits, causing an increase in body weight. Adolescents are sensitive to habit changes and, because of their insufficient ...capacity to deal with the unexpected COVID-19 changes, were at greater risk of noncommunicable disease development due to the consequences of adopting unhealthy habits. The survey aimed to reveal the changes in nutritional status and lifestyle habits of school children in Croatia and to assess their nutrition knowledge and emotional state and feelings about COVID-19 lockdown. Self-reported data from 1370 school children aged 10 to 15 years were obtained to examine the influence of the lockdown on their nutritional status, lifestyle and emotional status, and to assess their nutrition knowledge. The study revealed that the COVID-19 lockdown has caused an increase in the proportion of overweight and obesity among Croatian school children who changed their lifestyle habits towards being less physically active, spending more time using screen-based media and revealing potential psychological distress. However, the schoolchildren had a high adherence to the Mediterranean diet assessed with the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and adolescents KIDMED index and had good nutrition knowledge. Public health programs promoting a healthy lifestyle and involving the whole family, in a school environment, could provide children with a healthy adulthood.
Background. Associated with epidemics of obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming the most prevalent liver disease worldwide. The cornerstone of therapy for NAFLD is lifestyle ...intervention, mainly focused on weight loss. Significant weight loss results from energy-restricted diets, regardless of macronutrient distribution. An anti-inflammatory diet was related to lower odds of NAFLD among daily alcohol drinkers and individuals with metabolic syndrome. This study aims to evaluate the effect of an energy-reduced anti-inflammatory diet on liver status in younger adults with obesity after a 6-month follow-up. Methods. A two-arm randomized controlled trial surveyed 81 participants’ (mean age, 43 years) anthropometric and body composition changes. Metabolic status was determined with glycaemic and lipid status, inflammatory status with hs-CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α, and liver status with liver enzymes, NAFLD-FLS, FLI, and FIB-4 indices. The inflammatory potential of the diet was assessed by the Dietary Inflammatory Index, DII®. Results. Energy-restricted anti-inflammatory diet resulted in significant weight loss (−7.1%, p < 0.001), in reducing the visceral adiposity (−22.3%, p < 0.001), metabolic (HOMA-IR, −15.5%; total cholesterol, −5.3%; LDL-C, −4.6%; triglycerides, −12.2%), and inflammatory biomarkers (hs-CRP, −29.5%; IL-6, −18.2%; TNF-α, −34.2%), with significant improvement of liver parameters (NAFLD-FLS, −143.4%; FLI, −14.3%; FIB-4, −2.5%). Conclusion. The study showed the effectiveness of the anti-inflammatory diet with significant improvement of liver parameters in younger adults with obesity, which may reinforce the effectiveness of nutrition-based lifestyle programs, with an anti-inflammatory dietary approach for the treatment and resolution of NAFLD.
Unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity constitute an emerging public health problem. The working population is of special interest for public health monitoring and evaluation because ...workers' unhealthy lifestyles may lead to reduced work ability. The aim of this study was to determine diet quality and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD), according to the level of physical activity, and to detect variables associated with the working population's being highly physically active.
At the Institute for Occupational Medicine 400 full-time workers were examined for obesity factors, filled in the short version of
(IPAQ-short) and a validated food frequency questionnaire for adherence to the Mediterranean diet using
(MDS). The workers were divided into low, moderate and high physical activity groups according to the IPAQ-short scoring protocol. Hierarchical linear regression was performed to determine the variables associated with being highly active.
One-third of the participants were highly physically active and their diet adhered to the MD (Me
= 7). Significant variables associated with a high level of physical activity were gender (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.02), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (p < 0.001), sitting level (p = 0.044) and occupational type (p < 0.001).
It was found that the participants displaying a high level of physical activity had a better quality diet that adhered to the Mediterranean diet but not to a significant degree. The variables associated with a high level of physical activity were male gender, younger age, normal WHR, non-sedentary occupation and reduced sitting time. The study findings could serve the purpose of improving future public health promotion of physical activity and the Mediterranean diet. Med Pr. 2019;70(2):169-76.
Immunotherapy has improved the prognosis of metastatic melanoma patients, although most patients do not achieve a complete response. While specific gut microbiome and dietary habits might influence ...treatment success, there is a lack of concordance between the studies, potentially due to dichotomizing patients only into responders and non-responders. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether metastatic melanoma patients with complete and sustained response to immunotherapy exhibit differences in gut microbiome composition among themselves, and whether those differences were associated with specific dietary habits. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed that patients who exhibited a complete response after more than 9 months of treatment (late responders) exhibited a significantly higher beta-diversity (
= 0.02), with a higher abundance of
(LDA 3.548,
= 0.010),
(LDA 3.392,
= 0.024), and lower abundance of
(
= 0.04) compared to early responders. Furthermore, late responders exhibited a different diet profile, with a significantly lower intake of proteins and sweets and a higher intake of flavones (
< 0.05). The research showed that metastatic melanoma patients with a complete and sustained response to immunotherapy were a heterogeneous group. Patients with a late complete response exhibited microbiome and dietary habits which were previously associated with an improved response to immunotherapy.
Aim: The COVID -19 pandemic has changed the way people live, and children are particularly at risk because of their vulnerable age. The aim of this work was to evaluate the changes in nutritional ...status, physical activity, and eating habits of elementary school-aged children during the Covid 19 pandemic. Methods: The study was conducted from February to April 2021 and included 197 primary school children, 100 boys, and 97 girls. A questionnaire was used to collect data on lifestyle, eating habits, and physical activity outside school. The Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and adolescents was used to determine membership in the Mediterranean diet. The kinanthropological and anthropological data of the students were obtained from the diary of the physical education and health teacher. Results: The average rating of the quality of the children's diet, as determined by the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Children and Adolescents, showed a moderate affiliation with the Mediterranean diet. Before online instruction, 65.9% of students ate breakfast daily, whereas during online instruction, 75.7% ate breakfast (p< 0.001). Results showed that students exercised statistically significantly more before online instruction than during online instruction (p< 0.05). Students had weaker kinanthropological scores than before beginning online instruction. Conclusions: According to the results, students' diet is of average quality, and some habits, such as breakfast, have improved, while physical activities have decreased significantly during the pandemic. Therefore, the promotion of proper nutrition and physical activity through public health programs should be emphasized to educate both children and parents about the importance of proper nutrition, physical activity, and responsible use of various media.
Cilj: Pandemija COVID-19 promijenila je način života ljudi, a djeca su zbog svoje dobi posebno ugrožena. Cilj rada bio je procijeniti promjene stanja uhranjenosti, navika tjelesne aktivnosti i prehrane kod djece osnovnoškolske dobi tijekom pandemije COVID-19.Metode: Istraživanje je provedeno u školskoj godini 2020/2021 i obuhvatilo je 197 djece iz osnovne škole, 100 dječaka (12,21 ± 1,17) i 97 djevojčica (12,44 ± 1,20). Podaci o životnim i prehrambenim navikama te o tjelesnoj aktivnosti izvan škole dobiveni su iz anketnog upitnika. Za određivanje pripadnosti mediteranskom načinu prehrane koristio se Mediteranski indeks kvalitete prehrane za djecu i adolescente. Kinantropološki i antropološki podaci o učenicima preuzeti su iz dnevnika učitelja tjelesne i zdravstvene kulture.Rezultati: Prosječna ocjena kakvoće prehrane djece ocijenjena prema Mediteranskom indeksu kvalitete prehrane za djecu i adolescente, pokazala je srednju pripadnost mediteranskom načinu prehrane. Prije online nastave doručkovalo je svaki dan 65,9% učenika dok je za vrijeme online nastave njih 75,7 % doručkovalo (p<0,001). Rezultati su pokazali da su se učenici statistički značajno više bavili sportom prije online nastave nego za vrijeme online nastave (p<0,05). Učenici su imali slabije kinantropološke rezultate poslije nego prije početka online nastave te nisu uočene statistički značajne razlike u stanju uhranjenosti. Zaključci: Prema dobivenim rezultatima učenici pripadaju srednjoj kvaliteti prehrane, a neke navike, poput doručkovanja su se poboljšale dok su se navike tjelesne aktivnosti značajno smanjile za vrijeme pandemije. Stoga treba naglasiti promicanje pravilne prehrane i tjelesne aktivnosti putem javnozdravstvenih programa kako bi se i djeca i roditelji educirali o važnosti pravilne prehrane, tjelesne aktivnosti.
Aim: To evaluate students’ dietary vitamin D intake according to characteristics and habits concerning daily sunlight exposure. Methods: The study included 403 students of the University of Rijeka, ...Croatia that fulfilled questionnaire about their characteristics, habits, physical activity, supplement use, diet, and their daily sunlight exposure. For assessing diet quality, the Dietary inflammatory index (DII®) was used. Results: Average dietary vitamin D intake was 2.76 μg/day, statistically highest among men (p<0.01), medical sciences universities’ students (p<0.01), students with obesity (p=0.03), highly physically active (p=0.02) and smokers (p=0.01). Major dietary vitamin D sources were fish (42%, p<0.01) and meat and meat products (31%). Students that more frequently expose themselves to the sunlight were mostly men, overweight, moderately physically active, dietary supplements users, and had a diet with more anti-inflammatory potential, higher dietary vitamin D intake and its major dietary sources. Those who rarely and never used a sunscreen had a more anti-inflammatory diet and higher vitamin D and its major food sources intakes. Diet with more pro-inflammatory potential had students that rarely or never directly expose themselves to the sunlight, likewise the students that frequently used sunscreen. Those subgroups also had the lowest dietary vitamin D intake. Conclusions: The average dietary vitamin D intake by investigated university students satisfied only the fifth of the recommended daily vitamin D intake. Students with habits that can influence the lower synthesis of vitamin D may increase the risk of diseases related to bone health, immunity and inflammation in their future life. Provided results about students’ habits of their exposure to the sunlight might be useful for public health messages toward sufficient sunlight exposure, diet quality with more anti-inflammatory potential, vitamin D supplements use, and vitamin D deficiency prevention.
Cilj: Procijeniti unos vitamina D prehranom u studentskoj populaciji s obzirom na njihove karakteristike i navike dnevnom izlaganju sunčevom svjetlu. Metode: U istraživanju su sudjelovala 403 studenta Sveučilišta u
Rijeci, u Hrvatskoj, koji su ispunili upitnik o svojim karakteristikama, navikama tjelesne aktivnosti, prehrani, upotrebi dodataka prehrani te o svakodnevnom izlaganju sunčevom svjetlu. Za procjenu kvalitete prehrane korišten je Prehrambeni upalni indeks (DII®). Rezultati: Prosječan prehrambeni unos vitamina D iznosio je 2,76
μg/dan, statistički je bio veći među muškarcima (p < 0,01), studentima fakulteta medicinskih znanosti (p < 0,01), pretilim studentima (p = 0,03), onima koji su bili visoko tjelesno aktivni (p = 0,02) i pušačima (p = 0,01). Glavni prehrambeni izvori vitamina D bili su riba (42 %, p < 0,01) te meso i mesni proizvodi (31 %). Studenti koji se učestalije dnevno izlažu suncu, bili su uglavnom muškarci, prekomjerne tjelesne mase, umjereno tjelesno aktivni, korisnici dodataka
prehrani i prehrane s većim protuupalnim potencijalom, većim unosom vitamina D i njegovih glavnih prehrambenih izvora. Oni koji nikad nisu koristili proizvode za sunčanje ili su ih koristili rijetko, imali su više protuupalnu prehranu i veći unos vitamina D i njegovih glavnih prehrambenih izvora. Te podgrupe studenata također su i najmanje unosile
vitamin D prehranom. Zaključci: Prosječan dnevni unos vitamina D prehranom među istraživanim studentima zadovoljio je tek petinu preporučenog dnevnog unosa vitamina D. Studenti s navikama koje mogu utjecati na smanjenu sintezu vitamina D, mogu povećati rizik od bolesti povezanih sa zdravljem kostiju, imunitetom i upalama u budućem životu. Dobiveni rezultati mogu biti vrijedni za javnozdravstvene poruke o odgovarajućem izlaganju sunčevoj svjetlosti, prehrani s većim protuupalnim potencijalom i korištenju dodataka prehrani, važnima za prevenciju nedostatka vitamina D.
The adherence to the Mediterranean diet is beneficial for cardiovascular diseases prevention. The study aim is to use Mediterranean lifestyle (MEDLIFE) questionnaire for estimation of Mediterranean ...lifestyle habits among the working population and to establish MEDLIFE score correlation with the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. In the study has participated 366 workers from Croatia, which fulfilled MEDLIFE and validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) questionnaire. The multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between MEDLIFE index, workers' obesity and cardiovascular diseases risk. The lowest adherence to Mediterranean lifestyle was associated to younger, low education, body fat above acceptable ranges and unfavorable lipid profile. Significant association to Mediterranean lifestyle was more among women (
= 0.002), middle aged (
= 0.02), highly physically active (
= 0.009) and those who play collective sports >2 h/w (
= 0.001), having body fat within acceptable range (
= 0.003), total cholesterol less (
= 0.03) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL-C) (
= 0.04) more than recommended. Inverse significant association was for high educational level (
= 0.02). The Mediterranean lifestyle adherence is associated to lower risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among studied working population. MEDLIFE index revealed that physical activity and conviviality are better ingrained among younger population but not the Mediterranean diet.
The Mediterranean diet (MD), abundant in whole grains, is known to be
one of the healthiest dietary patterns. Given the health benefits of whole
grain cereals as a rich source of nutrients and ...phytochemicals, this study
examined parental adherence to MD and its association with their
adolescents’ cereals intake, in 203 parent-adolescent dyads. Adherence to
MD was evaluated using the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for
adolescents (13.5±1.2y) and the Short Mediterranean Diet Questionnaire
for parents (41.53±5.99y). Although the level of the parents’ adherence to
MD did not significantly influence the adolescents´ weekly consumption
frequency of pasta and rice, adolescents whose parents had higher
adherence to MD (44.3%) more often ate cereals or grains for breakfast
(p=0.045) and less frequently, commercially baked goods or pastries
(p=0.043). Adolescents of parents who had lower adherence to MD
(55.7%) stated that they would eat more whole grain bakery products
(p=0.049) and more breakfast cereals (p=0.039) if those foods were more
often available at home. Adolescents with parents who had higher
adherence to MD stated that they were more often encouraged by their
parents to eat whole grain bakery products (p=0.030), compared with their
counterparts whose parents had lower adherence to MD. With this study,
we revealed that food environment and parental eating behaviour are
notable factors that influence adolescents’ dietary intake. Disease
prevention health programs should focus more strongly on encouraging
parents to adopt MD features in their family food environment.
Cilj: Tradicionalna mediteranska prehrana povezuje se sa smanjenim rizikom od nastanka mnogih kroničnih nezaraznih bolesti. Ciljovog rada bio je utvrditi kakvoću prehrane studenata u Rijeci, odnosno ...odrediti pripadnost mediteranskom načinu prehrane uzpomoć dvaju indeksa za ocjenu mediteranskog načina prehrane: Mediteranskog indeksa kvalitete prehrane i Ocjene mediteranskeprehrane.Metode: Istraživanje je provedeno od siječnja do svibnja 2018. godine i obuhvatilo je 455-ero studenata s riječkog Sveučilišta, 336žena i 119 muškaraca. Podatci o dobi, tjelesnoj aktivnosti, antropometriji, pušenju i prehrambenim navikama dobiveni su iz anketnihupitnika. Za određivanje pripadnosti mediteranskom načinu prehrane primijenjena su dva indeksa: Mediteranski indeks kvaliteteprehrane i Ocjena mediteranske prehrane.Rezultati: Prosječna ocjena kakvoće prehrane studenata ocijenjena prema Mediteranskom indeksu kvalitete prehrane iznosila je9,61, što označava srednju do nedostatnu kakvoću prehrane. Prema Ocjeni mediteranske prehrane kakvoća prehrane ocijenjena jekao nedostatna i iznosila je 3,70. Žene su imale značajno bolji Mediteranski indeks kvalitete prehrane (9,36) od muškaraca (p<0,001)i studenti koji ne puše također su imali značajno bolji Mediteranski indeks kvalitete prehrane (9,11) od pušača (p<0,001).Zaključci: Prema dobivenom Mediteranskom indeksu kvalitete prehrane i Ocjeni mediteranske prehrane možemo zaključiti da jeprehrana studenata ocijenjena srednjom do nedostatnom te je vidljivo kako postoji potreba za povećanjem pridržavanja mediteranskognačina prehrane te promjenom prehrambenih navika studenata. Prema dobivenim rezultatima postoji jasna potreba zastvaranjem programa promicanja zdravlja, s posebnim naglaskom na edukaciju o prehrani i na prehrambene navike.
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