title: Body mass index and nutrition as determinants of health and disease in population of Croatian Adriatic islands.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationships between body mass index (BMI), dietary habits, and cardiovascular risk factors in isolated Adriatic island populations of Croatia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Random sample of subjects (n=1001) was interviewed, using a validated questionnaire developed for this research program. Dietary habits were assessed on the basis of applied Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Biochemical analyses of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides, and blood glucose were performed. Blood pressure (mm Hg), height (m), and weight (kg) were measured following standard procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 1001 study participants, 507 (50.7%) were overweight (247 [48.7%] men and 260 [51.3%] women), whereas 268 (26.8%) were obese (122 [45.5%] men and 146 [54.5%] women). In both genders, there was a positive correlation between body mass index (BMI) and levels of triglycerides (P<0.001), glucose (P<0.001), diastolic blood pressure (P<0.001), and systolic blood pressure (male: P=0.002, female: P<0.001). Logistic regression showed that female gender (OR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.61-3.31), overweight (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.34-2.88), obesity (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.22-2.96), more frequent consumption of meat (OR 1.17; 95% CI, 1.06-1.30) and beer (OR 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03-1.27), and less frequent consumption of potatoes (OR 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83-0.99) were predictive for the presence of cardiovascular risk factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevalence of obesity and related health outcomes was surprisingly high for the studied population. We found a correlation between BMI, dietary habits, and cardiovascular risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental, and Occupational Health, Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, Zagreb University School of Medicine, Rockefellerova 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. jpucarin@snz.hr
authors.forename: Jasna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pucarin-Cvetković
authors.forename: Jadranka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mustajbegović
authors.forename: Jagoda
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doko Jelinić
authors.forename: Ankica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Senta
authors.forename: Iskra Alexandra
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Nola
authors.forename: Davor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ivanković
authors.forename: Antoinnete
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaić-Rak
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milosević
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D017523:Croatia; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids