Contribution of nutritional and dietary factors to the glycometabolic phenotype

Environmental factors such as unhealthy eating behavior, poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to weight gain and chronic disease risk. In Italy, 45% of the adult population suffers from overweight and obesity and is, therefore, at higher risk of developing chronic diseases. Diet and lifestyle can contribute to increased risk of chronic disease even in normal weight condition, through excessive increase in total and visceral fat mass, as well as high intake of harmful nutrients and non-nutrients and reduction of protective ones. Therefore, dietary-nutritional characterization is critical to understand the complex relationship between diet, nutritional status, and risk of disease. 
A phenotypic trait of the utmost importance that is closely related to nutritional status and to dietary quality, relates to glyco-metabolic control, because it is strongly related to the cardiometabolic risk and the prevalence of dysglycemia is likely underestimated in the general population. We plan to study the relationship between nutritional status, diet, and glycometabolic status in people with overweight and obesity.

The research will involve different activities as reported below. 

• Analysis of existing data on nutritional status, body composition, metabolic status, eating behavior, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and physical activity to investigate the contribution of nutritional and dietary factors to investigate the contribution of nutritional and dietary factors on fasting glucose and insulin concentrations and sensitivity.
• Exploitation of new ONFOODS cohorts (subjects who undergo nutritional characterization in Auxologico Città Studi ICANS) to assess nutritional status, body composition, metabolic status, eating behavior, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, physical activity, food consumption and nutrient intake and glucose metabolism through an OGTT modified with insulin and c-peptide sampling. This will provide measures of insulin secretory/sensitivity and glucose tolerance phenotypes according to dietary and nutritional characteristics. Nutritional interventions and lifestyle changes will be then performed. Predictive tools of dietary intervention success based on the nutritional phenotypes and insulin secretory function and sensitivity will be developed.

Insights of the contribution to the glycol-metabolic phenotype of BMI status, body composition and fat distribution, metabolic syndrome, eating behavior and adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
Characterization of insulin secretory and sensitivity parameters through direct measures and modelling, and identification of simple biomarkers that can surrogate the more complex measures. 
Insights of the contribution of different dietary patterns and processing level of foods on the glycol-metabolic phenotype. 
Developments of prediction tools that may assist the allocation of subjects to specific interventions to optimize their nutritional status and glycol-metabolic phenotype.