EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALTH   

Medicina dello Sport 2019 March;72(1):89-102

DOI: 10.23736/S0025-7826.19.03479-3

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

Influence of physical activity and lifestyle on nutritional status and cardiovascular prevention of countryside school adolescents in Italy

Marco A. PERRONE ^{1, 2, 3} ✉, Giovanni CAPRIA ⁴, Cristina BELFIORE ⁴, Chiara SALIMEI ⁴, Sara PARRETTINI ⁴, Iole FANTOZZI ⁴, Francesco NICOLETTI ⁴, Bruno DONATUCCI ⁵, Annamaria SALVATI ⁵, Francesco ROMEO ¹, Sergio BERNARDINI ^{2, 3}, Antonino DE LORENZO ⁴

¹ Division of Cardiology, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy; ² Division of Clinical Biochemistry and Clinical Molecular Biology, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy; ³ University Sports Centre, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy; ⁴ Division of Clinical Nutrition and Nutrigenomic, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy; ⁵ Division of Sport Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy

BACKGROUND: Assess nutritional status and cardiovascular prevention of adolescents and their parents, besides the influence of physical activity and eating habits, in countryside.
METHODS: Nutritional status was evaluated measuring weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, waist-hip circumference and body fat by skinfolds. Eating habits were evaluated by food frequency questionnaire to form two clusters, one closer to Mediterranean diet and the other to Western diet. Questionnaires have also been used to evaluate physical activity and family environment.
RESULTS: No differences were found in anthropometric and body composition data between clusters, but an association was observed between adolescents BMI and family environment. Non-curricular physical activity was able to prevent gain of weight.
CONCLUSIONS: To reduce the negative effect of obesogenic elements and to promote the non-curricular and curricular physical activity in countryside healthy policies measures are needed.

KEY WORDS: Physical activity - Nutritional status - Sport - Adolescent - Cardiovascular diseases - Prevention and control