Predicting non-responders to lifestyle intervention in prediabetes: a machine learning approach.

Background: The clinical care process for people with prediabetes starts with lifestyle intervention, often escalating to more intense treatment due to the low success rate of the first-line intervention. Clinicians lack clear guidelines on which patients would benefit from early treatment with more intensive therapeutic options, so we aimed to develop an algorithm to early identify non-responders to lifestyle intervention for prediabetes.

Method: Several statistical and machine learning algorithms were screened with internal cross-validation on the basis of accuracy and discrimination ability to correctly classify patients that would fail to normalize fasting glycemia within one year of being prescribed a lifestyle intervention, solely based on the first examination measurements.

Diet and physical exercise as key players to tackle MASLD through improvement of insulin resistance and metabolic flexibility.

Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) has emerged as a prevalent health concern, encompassing a wide spectrum of liver-related disorders. Insulin resistance, a key pathophysiological feature of MASLD, can be effectively ameliorated through dietary interventions. The Mediterranean diet, rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and healthy fats, has shown promising results in improving insulin sensitivity.

Effect of acute meal and long-term intake of a Mediterranean Diet providing different amounts of carbohydrates on physical performance and biomarkers in non-professional strength athletes.

The study aims to evaluate the effect of an acute meal and long-term intake of Mediterranean Diet (MD) on different parameters such as strength, physical performance, body composition and blood markers in a group of non-professional athletes who practice a strength activity. Thirteen volunteers completed two 8-week dietary interventions in a randomised, cross-over design. Also an acute study was performed.

Study protocol of a clinical randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of an innovative Digital thErapy to proMote wEighT loss in patients with obesity by incReasing their Adherence to treatment: the DEMETRA study.

Despite the increasing importance of innovative medications and bariatric surgery for the treatment of obesity, lifestyle interventions (diet and physical activity) remain the first-line therapy for this disease. The use of digital devices in healthcare aims to respond to the patient's needs, in order to make obesity treatment more accessible, so our study aims to assess the safety and efficacy of a Digital Therapy for Obesity App (DTxO) for achieving weight loss and its maintenance in patients affected with obesity undergoing an experimental non-pharmacological treatment. Here we present the study protocol of a prospective, multicenter, pragmatic, randomized, double-arm, placebo-controlled, parallel, single-blind study on obese patients who will be treated with a new digital therapy to obtain an improvement in their disease condition through the application of different simultaneous strategies (a dietary regimen and personalized advice program, a tailored physical exercise program, a cognitive-behavioural assessment and program, alerts and reminders, dedicated section on prescribed drugs intake, and chat and online visits with clinical professionals).

Sex Differences in the Relationship between Chronotype and Eating Behaviour: A Focus on Binge Eating and Food Addiction.

Background: Men are more likely than women to have subthreshold overeating disorders. Lifestyle plays a role as a determinant, while chronotype is an emerging factor. Chronotype explains the natural preferences of wakefulness and activity throughout the day: evening chronotypes (E-Types), those most productive in the evening, have been linked with unhealthy dietary patterns and a higher propensity to substance addiction than morning types (M-Types).

Impact of 4-week of a restricted Mediterranean diet on taste perception, anthropometric, and blood parameters in subjects with severe obesity.

Introduction: The study of taste functionality and its relation to human health is receiving growing attention. Obesity has been reported to cause alterations in sensory perception regarding system functionality and preferences. However, a small body of research addresses tastes perception and its modification with the achievement of body mass reduction through surgical intervention.

Development of a questionnaire on nutritional knowledge for the obese hospitalized patient: the NUTRIKOB questionnaire.

Introduction: Different approaches, involving different areas and figures, are useful for the rehabilitation of obese subjects through a multidisciplinary hospital path. A focal point of rehabilitation is represented by education on healthy eating by increasing the dietary knowledge patients. Few tools investigating food knowledge are available in Italy: therefore, the need has emerged to develop easy-to-use tools for clinical practice that allow to detect food knowledge to set up a more targeted food re-education.

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Incidence of Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adults: A Systematic Review of Prospective Studies.

Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are energy-dense, nutritionally unbalanced products, low in fiber but high in saturated fat, salt, and sugar. Recently, UPF consumption has increased likewise the incidence of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. To highlight a possible relationship, we conducted a systematic review of prospective studies from PubMed and Web of Science investigating the association between UPF consumption and the incidence of obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Gut Microbiota and Fear Processing in Women Affected by Obesity: An Exploratory Pilot Study.

The microbiota-gut-brain axis extends beyond visceral perception, influencing higher-order brain structures, and ultimately psychological functions, such as fear processing. In this exploratory pilot study, we attempted to provide novel experimental evidence of a relationship between gut microbiota composition and diversity, and fear-processing in obesity, through a behavioral approach. Women affected by obesity were enrolled and profiled for gut microbiota, through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.

Systematic Review on the Potential Effect of Berry Intake in the Cognitive Functions of Healthy People.

The increase in life expectancy poses health challenges, such as increasing the impairment of cognitive functions. Berries show a neuroprotective effect thanks to flavonoids, able to reduce neuroinflammatory and to increase neuronal connections. The aim of this systematic review is to explore the impact of berries supplementation on cognitive function in healthy adults and the elderly.

Changes in smell and taste perception related to COVID-19 infection: a case-control study.

The main aim of the present study was to psychophysically evaluate smell and taste functions in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and to compare those results with a group of healthy subjects. Another aim of the study was to assess the relationship of changes in patients' smell and taste functions with a number of clinical parameters, symptoms, and other physiological signs as well as with severity of disease. Olfactory and gustatory functions were tested in 61 hospitalized patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and in a control group of 54 healthy individuals.

Are People with Obesity Attracted to Multidisciplinary Telemedicine Approach for Weight Management?

The forced isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the lifestyle intervention programs for people with obesity. This study aimed to assess: (1) the behaviors of subjects with obesity towards medical care during the pandemic and (2) their interest in following a remotely delivered multidisciplinary program for weight loss. An online self-made survey addressed to subjects with obesity was linked to the official website of our institute.

Ultra-processed foods and obesity and adiposity parameters among children and adolescents: a systematic review.

Purpose: According to the NOVA classification, ultra-processed foods are products made through physical, biological and chemical processes and typically with multiple ingredients and additives, in which whole foods are mostly or entirely absent. From a nutritional point of view, they are typically energy-dense foods high in fat, sugar, and salt and low in fiber. The association between the consumption of ultra-processed food and obesity and adiposity measurements has been established in adults.

A High Protein Diet Is More Effective in Improving Insulin Resistance and Glycemic Variability Compared to a Mediterranean Diet-A Cross-Over Controlled Inpatient Dietary Study.

The optimal dietary pattern to improve metabolic function remains elusive. In a 21-day randomized controlled inpatient crossover feeding trial of 20 insulin-resistant obese women, we assessed the extent to which two isocaloric dietary interventions-Mediterranean (M) and high protein (HP)-improved metabolic parameters. Obese women were assigned to one of the following dietary sequences: M-HP or HP-M.

Patients with Severe Obesity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: How to Maintain an Adequate Multidisciplinary Nutritional Rehabilitation Program?

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading all over the world, particularly in developed countries where obesity is also widespread. There is a high frequency of increased BMI in patients admitted to intensive care for SARS-CoV-2 infection with a major severity in patients with an excess of visceral adiposity. Patients at risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 acute respiratory syndrome are characterised by the high prevalence of pre-existing diseases (high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer), most of them typically present in severely obese patients.