The University of Rome Foro Italico in Orvieto reaffirms its commitment to spreading healthy lifestyles for the well-being of individuals and the community.
Agriculture, Tourism and Good Food were the topics at the center of the debate held on Sunday, December 1, at the Mancinelli Theater in Orvieto, organized as part of the event “Orvieto City of Taste and Art” by the Cotarella Foundation, the Way of Life Consortium and Coldiretti Umbria, with the patronage and support of the Municipality of Orvieto and the GAL Trasimeno – Orvietano. Together, and in an integrated way, agriculture, tourism and good food are fundamental tools for the enhancement of territories, the economic and social development of inland areas, and the protection of the environment and landscape. But, not to be outdone is the role they can play in terms of health, especially if combined with adequate physical exercise, aiming at increasing education, particularly of the new generations, towards healthier lifestyles.
In fact, according to the World Health Organization, about 75 percent of deaths in Europe are caused by noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and cancer. These conditions are closely related to four risk factors: poor diet, physical inactivity, harmful alcohol consumption and tobacco use. The consequences of these habits impact not only quality of life, but also the economic sustainability of national health care systems. In many countries in the most developed regions, including Italy, where more than 20 percent of the population is over 60 years old, these issues are assuming increasing importance, requiring a joint effort between institutions, universities, the world of research and agribusiness actors.
It was precisely on this theme that the intervention of the Director General of the University of Rome “Foro Italico,” Lucia Colitti, focused, who, on the stage of the 19th-century Orvieto theater, was keen to reiterate the University’s commitment to increasing awareness of the issue of the population’s well-being through a correct lifestyle, which counteracts sedentariness and improper eating habits. “This is one of the great challenges of our time,” Colitti emphasized. “We live in an age in which, paradoxically, we eat too much and badly, and move too little. The data are eloquent: a significant percentage of the population suffers from noncommunicable diseases, which could be prevented by a correct lifestyle. The University of Rome “Foro Italico,” the only one in Italy entirely dedicated to motor sciences and health, – he reiterated – is in the forefront of this commitment, with an assumption of responsibility especially towards future generations. There is a great binomial to focus on, that between conscious nutrition and movement, which can allow the individual to improve his or her lifestyle and age better. And it is precisely on this pairing,” he concluded, “that, as a university, we work particularly hard, with a strong synergy between teaching and research, to develop innovative solutions that have a tangible impact on society and public health, convinced of theimportance of the interaction between nutrition and exercise, which acts as a true natural drug, what our department director calls “a natural multi-drug without side effects.
“Today our farms are yes places of production – and it could not be otherwise – but they are also places of experience, training and education, especially for our young people, to whom we can let them know how an agri-food product really comes into being, which road it travels before arriving on our tables,” added Dominga Cotarella, a member of the Board of the University of Rome “Foro Italico” and national president of Terranostra . In this way we are able to create greater awareness and trust in consumers, current and future, towards good food, the authentic, simpler food, linked to our traditions, identity. Italian agriculture, which is multifunctional and of quality, allows us to educate visitors about taste and well-being, which enriches them with knowledge and emotions. Let us not forget,” he concluded, “that the excellence of the Italian table is the first travel motivation of a tourist to Italy, and this is a demonstration of how important is the close link between agriculture, tourism and good food, which represents a great strength for our country.”
The meeting in Orvieto was attended by, among others, Coldiretti President Ettore Prandini, Secretary General of the agricultural business organization Vincenzo Gesmundo, Luigi Scordamaglia CEO of Filiera Italia, Federico Vecchioni CEO of BF Spa, Alberto Villani, Head of the UOC of General Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at the Bambin Gesù Children’s Hospital, Sara Farnetti, Medical Specialist in Internal Medicine, Pathophysiology of Metabolism, Functional Nutrition, and Alessandro Rossi, Director of the prestigious Forbes Italia magazine.
There are numerous research laboratories in the Athenaeum studying the positive health effects of a healthy diet combined with proper and balanced physical activity:
the Laboratory of Sports Medicine, which deals with nutrition in sports, the laboratory of Exercise Physiology, which investigates the effects of nutritional interventions on neuro-muscular function and glycemic control in diabetic patients, the laboratory of Epidemiology and Biotechnology, which studies the microbiota and its relationship to a healthy lifestyle, the laboratory of Exercise and Sport Sciences, which promotes research on the role of adapted motor activity in the prevention and treatment of Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases, and outreach and research programs in the area of exercise in oncology.
Current research projects include:
- “Moving More and Sitting Less: Promoting Physical Exercise as Adjuvant Therapy in Musculoskeletal Rheumatic Diseases,” funded by the NRP, which studies how physical activity combined with an appropriate diet can be an effective adjuvant therapy for rheumatoid arthritis;
- The project Dietary Fructose: a metabolic switch in pediatric obesity-related diseases. Identification of nutritional, biological, omics and social determinants, supported by the CARIPLO Foundation, which analyzes the role of fructose in children’s diets in relation to obesity in childhood for the promotion of healthier lifestyles;
- PRIN project “Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases in Obesity: an endocRine trAnslational socioLogic Evaluation, “ which addresses the link between obesity and increased vulnerability to infectious diseases from a sociological perspective;
- the international project co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Sport program “Happy Bones : Physical activity in women in menopause: a collaborative partnership for active lifestyles for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.” This project demonstrated how physical activity, combined with proper nutrition, can prevent and treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis, an often underestimated disease, poses a major threat to the quality of life of the elderly, increasing the risk of fractures and loss of independence. With targeted exercise protocols and the support of a balanced diet, it is possible to strengthen the body and significantly improve people’s lives.
