Eating Habits and Lifestyle Profile of an Italian Aging Cohort

  • STATUS
    Recruiting
  • participants needed
    600
  • sponsor
    University of Pavia
Send
Updated on 16 February 2024
See if I qualify
cognitive impairment

Summary

Aging is characterized by low-grade inflammatory state, supported by impairment oxidative balance and endocrine changes, leading to changes in: body composition, such as decrease in lean body mass and increase in adipose tissue; resting metabolic rate; immune function; cognitive impairment. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics all subjects over the age of 60 should be able to access to adequate nutrition and appropriate nutritional services.

In order to ensure healthy aging and to reduce effects of specific diseases, recommendations are needed for illness and disability in this population, as well as adequate physical activity and specific support programs, culturally accepted.

The aim of this study is to evaluate eating habits in term of food consumption, health state and lifestyle in a sample of free-living elderly over the age of 65, living in Milan and surroundings.

In particular, profiling of the elderly population is performed using a survey in which information are collected on methods, contexts, time and ability to buy, prepare, consume and dispose of and recycle food. Eating habits and knowledge about food are detected through the analysis of food consumption frequencies, and lifestyle by assessing the level of physical activity, quality of sleep, smoking habit. Weight status and health status are evaluated through anthropometric measurements, body composition (bioelectrical impedance) and strength test.

Other information relating to social participation and other socio-demographic variables (age, gender, family composition, socio-economic status) are collected to have a completed profiling of target population.

Achieved results will help us to identify factors on which acting to ensure healthy aging and counteract inflammaging, the chronic low-grade systemic inflammation characteristic in the aging process.

Moreover, the study allows increasing the knowledge related to the needs and requirements of the target population to determine a good food policy and to increase the elderly empowerment.

Description

The study concerns the elderly population of the Milan Metropolitan Area. The aim is to identify and interpret the nutritional needs of the target population and thus implement the quality of life and the nutritional status of citizens through the evaluation of the dietary habits, health status and lifestyle of the elderly free-living.

The information is collected through a questionnaire consisting of 6 sections and includes batteries of questions and scales already validated in the literature: i) access to the points of sale; ii) consumer behavior; iii) eating habits; iv) opinions regarding accessibility; v) state of health, physical activity and sleep quality; vi) other socio-demographic information. The collected data will allow to identify different profiles of elderly people with respect to the investigated dimensions and to estimate the influence of different factors on eating habits and health status.

To complete the information collected with the questionnaire, functional and anthropmetric parameters are detected which are useful to complete the nutritional assessment of the target population. Specifically, the muscle strength, body composition, body weight, height, body circumferences, plicometry are measured, and the antripometric indices waist-height circumference ratio, waist-hip circumference ratio and arm muscle area are calculated.

SAMPLE SIZE: Based on the data on the population residing on 1 January 2017 from an Istat source, the residents of the metropolitan city of Milan aged 65 and over are 722703. The sample size was defined with the choice of a confidence level of 95% and of a confidence interval of 4%.

Details
Condition Senility, Lifestyle, Sarcopenia, Malnutrition, Healthy Aging, Eating Habit
Age 65years - 100years
Clinical Study IdentifierNCT04401930
SponsorUniversity of Pavia
Last Modified on16 February 2024

Eligibility

 Yes No Not Sure

Inclusion Criteria

Age: over 65
free-living
autonomous, self sufficient
acceptance and sign of informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

Age: under 65
living in: nursing home, Extended Care
hospitalized
non autonomous, non self sufficient
without acceptance and sign of informed consent
Clear my responses
Read more

How to participate?

Step 1 Connect with a study center
Message sent successfully.
We have submitted the information you provided to the research team at the location you chose. For your records, we have sent a copy of the message to your email address.
If you would like to be informed of other studies that may be of interest to you, you may sign up for Patient Notification Service.
Sign up

Send a message

Enter your contact details to connect with study team

Investigator Avatar

Primary Contact

First name*
Last name*
Email*
Phone number*
Other language

Additional screening procedures may be conducted by the study team before you can be confirmed eligible to participate.

Learn more

If you are confirmed eligible after full screening, you will be required to understand and sign the informed consent if you decide to enroll in the study. Once enrolled you may be asked to make scheduled visits over a period of time.

Learn more

Complete your scheduled study participation activities and then you are done. You may receive summary of study results if provided by the sponsor.

Learn more

Similar trials to consider

Browse trials for

cognitive impairment

Not finding what you're looking for?

Every year hundreds of thousands of volunteers step forward to participate in research. Sign up as a volunteer and receive email notifications when clinical trials are posted in the medical category of interest to you.

Sign up as volunteer
Add a private note
  • abc Select a piece of text.
  • Add notes visible only to you.
  • Send it to people through a passcode protected link.