engleski

Interactions between nutritional habits and complex characteristics of the population of the island od Vis

The Island of Vis is one of the Dalmatian islands with Mediterranean climate. The main goal of our research, conducted between 2001 and 2003, was to see if there is a link between nutritional habits and complex characteristics (morphology, physiology, biochemistry and complex diseases). The research was done on a sample from two smaller towns on the island, Vis and Komiža, as well as on a sample from several smaller inland villages with a total of 307 subjects. Our research showed that there is a difference in the average height and body weight of the subjects in different towns. Further, differential nutritional habits are seen in different towns, but also between sexes. These include an overall higher intake of fish in Komiža (p = 0, 032), higher intake of cheese (p = 0, 012), butter (p = 0, 08) and coffee (p = 0, 004) for female subjects, and beer and wine (p = 0, 00) for male subjects. Further, differential values of triglyceride levels have been measured for Komiža (1, 43 mmol/l), Vis (1, 69 mmol/l) and inland villages (1, 75 mmol/l). Differences were also noted in the prevalence of heart disease (82, 8 % in Komiža and 17, 2 % in Vis.

human nutrition; metabolic syndrome; complex characteristics; population of the island of Vis

During the field research in 2003, data were collected in the sample of 307 inhabitants of the island of Vis (town of Vis, Komiža, and surrounding villages), aged between 18 and 85 yrs (135 males and 172 females). One of the highest percentages of obesity in Croatia was observed in the study population. One of the leading factors leading to hipertension (68, 4 %), metabolic syndrom (41, 7 %), diabetes melitus (8, 1 %) coronary diseases (9, 4 %) and stroke (3, 9 %). Metabolic syndrom (MS) is one of the leading causes of diabetes and coronary diseases. Change in nutritional habits is considerd to be an important trigger for the expression of genes that cause complex diseases.