here is the test that verifies if our eating habits are right

It is considered one of the healthiest diets in the world.

Able to prevent metabolic diseases, to keep the risk under control obesityto safeguard the cardiovascular system thanks to the use of foods rich in good fats and fibre. Often, however, the Mediterranean diet it is also set aside in our country, to the advantage of the so-called “junk foods”. for this theAldo Moro University of Bari has developed an online questionnaire that in a few steps allows you to understand how much your eating habits conform to the style of the Mediterranean diet, also obtaining practical and targeted advice to improve your regimen by minimizing cardiovascular risk. The study was published in the specialized journal Nutrients and was carried out by the professor’s research group Antonio Moscattaprofessor of internal medicine at the Apulian university, in the context of the studies financed by the project Pnrr “On-foods”. Through the questionnaire, which can be joined for free, it is possible to understand what people eat and, above all, at what time. These are criteria that allow you to guide the healthiest food style that adheres to the key principles of the most famous diet in the world.

The research has therefore made it possible to develop a risk score – “score” – to analyze not only the type and quantity of food eaten but also lifestyle habits, such as the time of day in which main meals, physical activity and any alcohol intake. «These are habits that had never been taken into consideration by the previous questionnaires that evaluated adherence to the Mediterranean diet and which instead have an important impact in the pathogenesis of obesity and the resulting diseases, on a cardiovascular, metabolic and oncological level » explains Moschetta. The score predicts a result ranging from minus 13 to plus 25 points: the lower the score, the lower the adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The greater will consequently be the risk of abdominal adiposity and therefore of any cardiovascular problems. «We predicted different scores based on the quantities taken fruit, vegetables, carne, pesce, pastaburro, cerealscarbohydrates and alcohol – continues the researcher – but also questions relating to the time of day in which we consume them and the frequency with which we exercise».

Professor Antonio Moschetta

THE EFFECTS

Eating habits, as well as their effects on health, are in fact very personal. This is why it is necessary to consider the characteristics of each individual, preparing a personalized approach. «We cannot think that the same meal has the same effects on two people who have different energy consumption or that the same amount of pasta is metabolised and stored in the same way at two different times of the day – he confirms Musket – bad eating habits have repercussions on the accumulation of visceral adipose tissue and it is precisely this fat that is responsible for sending hormonal messages to the whole body and for causing those alterations responsible for cardiovascular disease». Knowing the risks one runs into is, therefore, «fundamental for one’s health, not only to get sick less, but to make therapies work better, for example in the case of diabetes and hypercholesterolemia», continues Moschetta. The study was conducted for about three years among the patients of the “C. Frugoni” of the Polyclinic of Bari, directed by Carlo Sabbà, and is based on concrete cases: more than 350 subjects with an average age of 50 years. The first author of the research, carlo de matteisconcludes: «Nutrition must increasingly be at the center of medical therapy, as the first barrier against disease and as a tool for better living».

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