Internal Medicine

Biography

Biography: Filomena Pietrantonio

Abstract

Background. International guidelines demonstrate the importance of nutrition and lifestyle as risk factorsin chronic diseases (CD). In order to validate the INS first realized through a pilot study in the race Strafadoi Lazio, the same questionnaire (CRF) was administered to a total of 157 athletes during 3 races in 2014.Methods. CRF was realized to identify, through a composite index, modifiable risk factors in causing CD taking into account: weight, diet and physical activity. Weight was measured using BMI according to the WHO stratification, physical activity as weekly frequency and average activity duration. Foods were evaluated qualitatively enhancing their effect on metabolism and food combination. Results.  INS was calculated by multiplying: nutrition index, BMI index and physical activity index. Maximum INS value is 0.92 stratified in 4 ranges between 0.01 and 0.92 (very low-low-high-very high). The athlete sample, selecting individuals with normal BMI, doing regularly exercise and following balanced diet, shows high INS value:0.47-0.69  (75% of the sample) and very high value: 0.69-0.92 (23%). INS seems to be direct correlate with physical activity index (moderate direct correlation: 0.756) and less linked to nutritional index (0.408) and  to BMI Index (0.472). Conclusions. The INS is the first composite index that combines nutritional status with other factors such as BMI and diet. The validation shows how it can be able to relate adequately to fundamental health determinants and can be a useful tool in evaluation of CD risk factors.