Objectives: The present study was aimed at surveying the Italian food consumption patterns in the 90s. It represented the second nationwide food intake survey that was carried out by the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione (INRAN). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Free-living households. Subjects: Sampled subjects: 1147 households randomly selected to be representative of the four main geographical areas (North-West, North-East, Centre, South). Analysed subjects: 1978 individuals out of 2734 initially collected in 15 Collaborative Centres strategically scattered through the national territory. Methods: A mixed 7-day based survey technique was applied in order to survey both individual and household consumption. At individual level, food intake was recorded by a self-compiled diary. At household level food data collection was by compilation of a food inventory by the dietician, a purchasedawasted foods diary and a recipes form both compiled by the person responsible for food related activities (decision of purchase, purchase, preparation of meals) in the household. All recorded data were monitored by the dieticians who visited the households participating in the study, at least three times. Household members were interviewed in order to collect socio-demographic, lifestyle and motivational information. Furthermore, ®eld-workers performed the food coding and the input of data by an ad hoc developed software. The survey design allowed an internal quantitative check of food data. Several check steps were centrally performed Results: The complex methodology caused the 46.8% response rate and afterwards a reduction of the analysed units (72% of the surveyed individuals). However, the analysed sample provided suf®ciently reliable data for outlining the most relevant aspects of dietary patterns in Italy. In order to better interpret the results, controversial aspects are also illustrated and discussed in the text. The disparity analysis found that traditional diversities among Italian regions are still alive. In general, males eat more than females. Analysis according to the age class (children: 1 ± 9 years old; adolescents: 10 ± 17; adults: 18 ± 64; elderly: b 64) showed differences especially between the group of children vs all the others, but also in the two groups of young individuals vs adults and the elderly, that could represent clues of an incorrect way of eating. Conclusions: Taking into account the different methodology, the comparison with previous results showed changes in the Italian average diet complying with an increasing attention to healthy aspects by large sectors of the population, but also opposite tendencies that should be carefully monitored. Sponsorship: Minister delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali (Mi.P.A.F.).

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In order to assess the interaction between alcohol intake, tobacco smoking and coffee consumption in determining the risk of liver cirrhosis we carried out a hospital-based case-control study involving 115 patients at their first diagnosis of cirrhosis and 167 control patients consecutively enrolled in the General Hospitals of the Province of L'Aquila (Central Italy). The mean life-time daily alcohol intake (as g ethanol consumed daily) was measured by direct patient interviews, whose reproducibility was > 0.80 and similar for cases and controls, as checked by interviewing the relatives of a sample of 50 cases and 73 controls. During the same patient's interview we also measured the mean consumption of coffee (daily number of cups of filtered coffee) and tobacco (life-time daily number of cigarettes smoked). A dose-effect relationship on the risk of cirrhosis was present both for alcohol intake--for which the risk was significantly increased above 100 g of daily intake--and for cigarette consumption. The latter did not however improve the goodness-of-fit of a logistic regression model including alcohol intake as covariate. By contrast, coffee consumption had a protective effect on the risk of cirrhosis and significantly improved the goodness-of-fit of such a model. Abstaining from coffee consumption determined both a significantly increased risk of cirrhosis, even for daily alcohol intake below 100 g, and a multiplicative effect with alcohol intake on this risk. In patients drinking > or = 101 g ethanol daily the relative risk increased from 5.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.4-22.0) for coffee consumers to 10.8 (95% confidence interval: 1.3-58.1) for coffee abstainers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The purpose of the study was to provide information on dietary intake in the InCHIANTI study population, a representative sample (n = 1453) of persons living in two towns of Tuscany (Italy), including a large number of old and very old individuals (79.5% >65 y old). We also investigated whether difficulties in nutrition-related activities were associated with inadequate intake of selected nutrients. The percentage of persons with an inadequate intake of nutrients according to Italian Recommended Nutrients Levels (LARN) was higher in the older age groups. Older persons tended to adapt their diets in response to individual functional difficulties, often leading to monotonous food consumption and, as a consequence, to inadequate nutrient intakes. Multiple logistic models were used to evaluate whether inadequate intake of selected nutrients could be predicted by nutrition-related difficulties. Reporting difficulties in three or more nutrition-related activities (chewing, self-feeding, shopping for basic necessities, carrying a shopping bag, cooking a warm meal, using fingers to grasp or handle) significantly increased the risk of inadequate intake of energy [odds ratio (OR) = 3.8, 95% CI = 1.9-7.8) and vitamin C (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.2-4.2, after adjustment for energy intake). More attention to functional problems in the elderly population and the provision of formal or informal help to those who have difficulty in purchasing, processing and eating food may reduce, at least in part, the percentage of older persons with poor nutrition.

Objectives: The main objectives of this pan-European study were: (1) to identify different types of physical activity and the time devoted to them, (2) to assess physical activity/inactivity at work and in leisure time, and (3) to determine self-reported body weight and height. Design and subjects: In each member state of the EU, approximately 1000 adults, aged 15 years or more, were selected to participate in an interview-assisted face-to-face questionnaire on physical activity and body weight. In each country, sample selection was quota-controlled to ensure national representativeness. Overall, 15 239 subjects in the EU completed the study. Results: On average in the EU, nearly three-quarters of the population participate in some kind of activity. In general, the highest proportions of participants were found in the Nordic countries and the lowest in the southern ones. At the European level, the five most common activities include walking, gardening, cycling, keep fit and swimming. Higher participation rates were found among men, younger subjects and those with a higher level of education. The majority of Europeans fall within the normal body mass index (BMI) range but more than one-third are overweight (31%) or obese (10%) and 11% have a BMI below 20. Conclusions: Several risk groups related to physical activity emerge from this survey: women, those with a lower level of education, older subjects, the overweight/obese and the underweight. Programmes to promote physical activity need to be tailored to the different groups identified in each country/region in order to increase adherence of non-participants and for the maintenance of those already engaged in activities.