Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer in italy currently result in annual per-capita costs of 700 euros.
A two-point reduction in blood pressure translates into a 7% lower risk of heart attack and a 10% lower risk of stroke.
Weight loss of 5 kg and 30 minutes of walking per day translate into a 67% reduction in the likelihood of developing diabetes.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, DIABETES AND CANCER IN ITALY CURRENTLY RESULT IN ANNUAL PER-CAPITA COSTS OF 700 EUROS
A TWO-POINT REDUCTION IN BLOOD PRESSURE TRANSLATES INTO A 7% LOWER RISK OF HEART ATTACK AND A 10% LOWER RISK OF STROKE
WEIGHT LOSS OF 5 KG AND 30 MINUTES OF WALKING PER DAY TRANSLATE INTO A 67% REDUCTION IN THE LIKELIHOOD OF DEVELOPING DIABETES

Proper eating habits and new lifestyles: the new position paper from the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition presented at Cernobbio contains recommendations for improving your health (and saving money)

Cernobbio, 4 September 2009 – Investing in prevention will not only enhance quality of life (and lifespan), but also reduce national healthcare costs, which remove hundreds of euros from each citizen’s pocket every year. This is one of the conclusions of “Diet and Health” [“Alimentazione e salute”], the third position paper, presented today at the Forum Villa d’Este di Ambrosetti in Cernobbio, from the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, a multidisciplinary think tank addressing food and nutrition and associated issues (economics, medicine, diet, sociology and the environment) and whose members include such luminaries as the oncologist Umberto Veronesi and the economist Mario Monti.

In the past fifty years, scientific progress, increasing life expectancy, evolution in diseases and changes in dietary habits and lifestyles have resulted in non-transmissible disorders such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer being responsible for 60% of the world’s current death rate.
The fact that some 80% of the cases of these disorders could have been prevented by eliminating a number of risk factors such as smoking, unbalanced diet, physical inactivity and alcohol consumption makes it clear that prevention has become a key factor today, without which the burden of these pathologies on global health could increase by 17% over the next ten years.

“Diet and lifestyle are central factors in prevention; there is a very close relation between the consumption of certain micro and macro nutrients and the probability of the occurrence of certain pathologies. Eating a minimal amount of saturated fat, meat, sugar and salt, and a great deal of fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates and fish, and getting regular exercise, such as walking 30 minutes a day, can help a great deal. If you can reduce your blood pressure by 2 points, you will reduce your risk of heart attack by 7% and the likelihood of a stroke by 10%,” states Gabriele Riccardi, professor of endocrinology and metabolic disorders.

“These pathologies start from an inflammatory process that debilitates cells in the body,” adds Camillo Ricordi, scientist and surgeon. “Hence, 5-6 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, anti-inflammatory agents par excellence, can extend your life, and by quite a bit. Furthermore, losing just 4-5 kilograms will reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes by two thirds, while also improving your overall state of health.”

In recent years, prevention is increasingly gaining a priority status: with increases in life expectancy and the development of the so-called “diseases of affluence” (including obesity), the costs for national healthcare represent an increasing burden on the population. In Italy, over 40 billion euros are spent each year for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer: nearly 700 euros per capita.



Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition
The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition is a multidisciplinary think tank focusing on issues of food and nutrition and their relations to economics, medicine, diet, sociology and the environment. 
The work of the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition is backed by an authoritative Advisory Board composed of Barbara Buchner, analyst with the International Environment Agency (IEA) of Paris, Mario Monti, economist, Gabriele Riccardi, endocrinologist, Camillo Ricordi, surgeon and scientist, Joseph Sassoon, sociologist, Umberto Veronesi, oncologist.


For further information:
Barilla – Giuseppe Coccon
Tel. (+39) 0521 2621
info@barillacfn.com