engleski

Physical fitness and lifestyle in a Mediterranean setting

The study examines differences in fitness-related variables between two ancestrally different populations living on the Eastern Adriatic island of Hvar. Previous investigations have suggested the retention of marked heterogeneity between the populations inhabiting western and eastern parts of this Mediterranean island with regard to sociocultural (migrational, linguistic) and biological (monogenic, ploygenic) characteristics. The sample comprises 305 subjects of both sexes (20 to 50 years of age) from 9 villages, which is 10.3% of their adult population. Physical fitness was represented by maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). The population has traditionally been occupied with agriculture and fishing which implies strenuous physical laboor. Data were collected from a health and lifestyle questionnaire, body composition measures, submaximal bicycle heart rate test, and other clinical measures. The analysis revealed no significant differences in lean body mass and physical activity between western and eastern populations, and higher body fatness and more intensive smoking habits in the western population. The differences partially reflect lifestyle changes that have important repercussions on nutrition behaviour of the islanders. The traditional Mediterranean dietary profile has undergone modifications in western villages that are located closer to urban centers, mainly an increase in foods of animal origin and in total lipids and sucrose quotas. After controlling for a number of lifestyle and physiological factors (age, body fat percentage, blood pressure, resting heart rate, smoking history), VO2max was shown to be significantly higher in the eastern female population but there were no differences in males. Female differences in physical fitness levels can partially be explained by population affiliation, independent of the effects of other fitness-related variables. The findings may reflect ancestral differences that persist today among populations living in basically similar environments, but there may also be some other lifestyle related habits or elements of the biotope that would explain the differences in physiological phenotypes.

physical fitness; Mediterranean setting; population genetics; anthropology

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