Mediterranean Diet, Physical Activity and Gut Microbiome Composition: A Cross-Sectional Study among Healthy Young Italian Adults.

ABSTRACT:

Background

This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the microbial composition of the gut and its possible association with the Mediterranean diet (MD) after adjusting for demographic and anthropometric characteristics in a sample of healthy young Italian adults.

Methods

Gut microbiota, demographic information, and data on adherence to MD and physical activity (PA) habits were collected in a sample of 140 university students (48.6% males, mean age 22.5 ± 2.9) with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.4 ± 2.8 kg/m² (15.2-33.8) and a mean PA level of 3006.2 ± 2973.6 metabolic equivalent (MET)-minutes/week (148-21,090).

Results

A high prevalence of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes was found in all the fecal samples. Significant dissimilarities in the

SUBMITTER: Galle F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7401267 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature