Publications by authors named "Raffaela Piccinelli"

Estimating the habitual food and nutrient intakes of a population is based on dietary assessment methods that collect detailed information on food consumption. Establishing the list of foods to be used for collecting data in dietary surveys is central to standardizing data collection. Comparing foods across different data sources is always challenging.

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Exposure to high altitude might cause the body to adapt with negative energy and fluid balance that compromise body composition and physical performance. In this field study involving 12 healthy adults, sex-balanced, and aged 29 ± 4 years with a body mass index of 21.6 ± 1.

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) enriched with bioactive molecules have gained considerable attention in nanotechnology because they are critical to intercellular communication while maintaining low immunological impact. Among biological matrices, urine has emerged as a noninvasive source of extracellular-contained liquid biopsy, currently of interest as a readout for physiological adaptations. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate chronic adaptations of endurance sport practice in terms of urinary EV parameters and evaluated by food consumption assessment.

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Healthy eating in childhood and adolescence is important for proper growth and development and to establish a healthy foundation for future dietary habits. This paper aims to describe the elaboration of dietary plans for pediatric ages highlighting critical points related to the application of the Italian nutrient recommendations. National databases on food composition data were used to compile the dietary plans.

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Dietary surveys are conducted to examine the population's dietary patterns that require a complex system of databases, and rules for constructing the data matrix (precision, coding, deriving new variables, e.g., body mass index from individual's height and weight, classes, e.

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The eating patterns in a population can be estimated through dietary surveys in which open-ended assessment methods, such as diaries and interviews, or semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires are administered. A harmonized dietary survey methodology, together with a standardized operational procedure, in conducting the study is crucial to ensure the comparability of the results and the accuracy of information, thus reducing uncertainty and increasing the reliability of the results. Dietary patterns (i) include several target variables (foods, energy and nutrients, other food components), (ii) require several explanatory variables (age, gender, anthropometric measurements, socio-cultural and economic characteristics, lifestyle, preferences, attitudes, beliefs, organization of food-related activities, etc.

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High-altitude exposure leads to many physiological challenges, such as weight loss and dehydration. However, little attention has been posed to the role of nutrition and ethnic differences. Aiming to fulfill this gap, five Italian trekkers and seven Nepalese porters, all males, recorded their diet in diaries during a Himalayan expedition (19 days), and the average daily intake of micro and macro-nutrients were calculated.

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Hypoxia alters micturition, which influences bladder function by involving different neurological and humoral systems. In this study we assessed the mid-term effects of altitude hypoxia on uroflowmetry in healthy male lowlander native Nepali porters and Italian trekkers, four each, who coattended a Himalayan expedition. All the participants completed a 19-day trek along a demanding route with ascent and descent at the Kanchenjunga Mountain.

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Altitude hypoxia induces changes in iron homeostasis with serum ferritin (sFER) response being recently linked to erythropoiesis. The main aim of this study was to investigate sFER and Vitamin D (Vit D) response to hypobaric hypoxia, taking into account factors including nutrition and ethnic origin. As part of a "Kanchenjunga Exploration & Physiology" project, 6 Italian trekkers and 6 Nepalese porters took part in a 19-days long altitude trek in the Himalayas self-recording daily food consumption.

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The aim of this study is to define a healthy and sustainable diet model with low GHGE, fulfilling dietary requirements, and considering current Italian food consumption patterns. A duly designed database was developed, linking food nutritional composition and GHGE based on 921 food items consumed in Italy according to the last national food consumption survey (INRAN-SCAI 2005-2006). Linear programming was used to develop new diet plans separately for males and females, aged 18-60 years ( = 2,098 subjects), in order to minimize GHGE.

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The sector of food supplements is certainly varied and growing: an ever wider offer of new products is launched on the market every year. This is reflected in new reorganization of drug companies and new marketing strategies, in the adoption of new production technologies with resulting changes in dietary supplements regulation. In this context, information on composition reported in labels of selected dietary supplements was collected and updated for the development of a Dietary Supplement Label Database according to products' availability on the Italian market and also including items consumed in the last Italian Dietary Survey.

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Objective: To analyse the Nutritional Knowledge Test (NKT) using Item Response Theory (ITR) analysis and to assess the construct validity of the Nutritional Knowledge Scale (NKTS) and its associations with adolescent food group consumption and nutritional biomarkers.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Multicentre investigation conducted in ten European cities.

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This work aims at giving an updated picture of the strict interaction between main plant biologically active compounds and botanicals. The main features of the emerging class of dietary supplements, the botanicals, are highlighted. Focus is also on the definition of actual possibilities of study approach and research strategies.

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The diet quality in yogurt consumers and non-consumers was evaluated by applying the probability of adequate nutrient intake (PANDiet) index to a sample of adults and elderly from the Italian food consumption survey INRAN SCAI 2005-06. Overall, yogurt consumers had a significantly higher mean intake of energy, calcium and percentage of energy from total sugars whereas the mean percentage of energy from total fat, saturated fatty acid and total carbohydrate were significantly (p < 0.01) lower than in non-consumers.

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Purpose: There is wide evidence that regular consumption of whole grain foods may reduce the risk of chronic diseases. The aim of this work was to quantify the intake of whole grains and identify main dietary sources in the Italian population.

Methods: Whole grain intakes were calculated in a sample of 2830 adults/older adults and of 440 children/adolescents from the last national survey INRAN-SCAI 2005-06.

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Objective: The question of whether breastfeeding has a protective effect against the development of overweight or obesity later in life remains controversial, especially during adolescence. The objective was to assess the relationship between breastfeeding and adolescents' body composition.

Methods: The HELENA study is a cross-sectional study involving 3,528 adolescents from 10 European cities.

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Introduction: To promote healthy food consumption patterns, information is required on the contribution of food groups to total nutrient intake. The objective of this paper is to identify the main dietary sources of nutrients in the diet of the population in Italy.

Methods: Data collected through individual food records within the INRAN-SCAI 2005-06 survey were required.

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Objective: To build up sufficient knowledge of a 'healthy diet'. Here, we report on the assessment of nutritional knowledge using a uniform method in a large sample of adolescents across Europe.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

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A critical analysis of existing food consumption databases was performed with particular regard for their current and potential use for the assessment of dietary exposure to additives, flavourings and residues of food contact materials. Within the European Food Consumption Validation project (EFCOVAL), a questionnaire on critical aspects of such datasets was developed and administered to researchers responsible for the collection/analysis of national food consumption data in European countries. Information collected was complemented through a review of the literature and of grey publications in order to provide an inventory of the main food consumption surveys performed in Europe from 1994 to 2007, for a total of 23 countries and 37 surveys.

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Background And Aims: Italian National Food Consumption Survey, INRAN-SCAI 2005-06, is the third national food consumption survey performed in Italy. This study describes energy and nutrient intakes in Italy.

Methods And Results: A national cross-sectional food consumption survey was conducted using consecutive 3-day food records between October 2005 and December 2006.

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Objective: The current paper aims to present the main results of the Italian National Food Consumption Survey INRAN-SCAI 2005-06.

Design: A cross-sectional study was performed. Households were randomly selected after geographical stratification of the national territory.

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