From laboratory to competition: the NutriSportHealthLab is born at CEINGE.
From laboratory to competition: the NutriSportHealthLab is born at CEINGE.
To design and validate innovative and personalized training programs based on the assessment of lifestyles, eating habits, sleep hygiene, mental well-being, posture, body composition and physical performance, dedicated to athletes of all ages, capable of improving health status and sports performance.
This is the mission of NutriSportHealthLab (NSHLab), the new multidisciplinary laboratory created at CEINGE Advanced Biotechnologies Franco Salvatore in Naples and led by Roberto Berni Canani, a full professor at the Federico II University, a world expert in pediatrics and nutrition, director of the ImmunoNutrition laboratory at CEINGE and president of the Master of Science in Nutrition degree program at the University of Federico II.
The first step of the NutriSportHealthLab team, composed of experts in nutrition, exercise science, sports medicine and pediatrics, was to evaluate a group of young water polo and synchronized swimming athletes from the Acquachiara World with an innovative multidisciplinary approach.
For each athlete, anthropometric assessments, analysis of body composition, eating habits, in particular, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and consumption of ultra-processed foods, but also assessments of lifestyle and sleep quality were performed. All data were correlated with the results of motor assessment tests, some novel serological biomarkers, and sports performance tests collected by Acquachiara coaches.
"Preliminary data from the project show that the applied protocol, in addition to producing an improvement in body composition, with a reduction in fat mass and an increase in lean mass, is able to significantly affect the athletic performance of the athletes with increased muscle power and a reduction in recovery time, as well as an overall improvement in health status," explains Professor Berni Canani.
Great satisfaction was expressed by Mariano Giustino, CEO of CEINGE and promoter of the collaboration with Acquachiara: "To carry out the NSHLab program, CEINGE has made available several high-profile scientific professionals and the Physical Activities facility, which is equipped with state-of-the-art sports equipment and advanced instrumentation that allows a very sophisticated assessment of nutritional status. Our goal as a center for research and molecular diagnostics is to contribute to the creation and dissemination of "health literacy" programs aimed at sportsmen and women of all ages that can improve not only sports performance but also, and more importantly, health status. We also intend to implement innovative services in the sports medical field to improve the athletic performance of competitive athletes."
"We are proud," says Franco Porzio, "of the collaboration with CEINGE and to participate with our athletes and female athletes in this ambitious scientific and sports project. As Acquachiara we care a lot about the health and well-being of both our athletes and all those who practice sports. This integrated multidisciplinary approach will allow not only to improve the level of training and hopefully sports results but also to gather valuable information to help improve everyone's well-being. Acquachiara is always very committed to social work. We believe that sport is everyone's right and a great opportunity for personal and collective health as much physical as psychological and relational. That is why we practice free Sunday open days and offer 1,000 admissions every year in our facilities."
CEINGE President Professor Pietro Forestieri emphasized the role that a project like NutriSport can play in the area of prevention: "Promoting initiatives that relate to good nutrition and proper lifestyle is an excellent investment. The idea that expenditures in health care are not costs but investments when it comes to disease prevention actions must take hold. Suffice it to say that obesity, which could easily be acted upon through good nutrition and proper lifestyle, costs as much as alcohol and smoking combined." (A.B.)
Written by Redazione c/o COINOR: redazionenews@unina.it | redazionesocial@unina.it