Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease

Provides accurate and well-documented information on the impact of diet and physical activity in the prevention and management of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and healthy aging.

This authoritative textbook examines the independent and combined impact of diet and physical activity in the prevention and management of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, with special emphasis on the elderly populations.

In this book the authors:

Provide the latest data on the association between a suboptimal diet and physical inactivity and chronic disease.

Examine the role of epigenetics on longevity.

Discuss the fundamentals of healthy aging.

Highlight the role of well-known dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet and the Nordic diet in favorable health outcomes, including cardiovascular, metabolic health, and healthy aging.

Discuss the health outcomes of physical activity and healthy aging.

Present the most recent evidence-based data on the independent and synergistic impact of diet and exercise on disease prevention and management including, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, kidney failure, cancer and other conditions.

Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease: Diet, Physical Activity and Healthy Aging is an excellent textbook for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in medical and health-related disciplines and for health professionals, including dietitians and nutritionists, exercise physiologists, athletic trainers, nurses, physicians, geriatricians, and other health professionals with a special focus in older adults. This book is also a highly useful reference for health professionals interested in introducing diet and physical activity as an intervention for healthy aging as well as the prevention and management of cardiovascular and other metabolic diseases that are prevalent in aging populations.

Approximately 2500 years ago, the Greek physician and father of medicine Hippocrates wrote: “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.” In more recent years, a plethora of scientific evidence supports this concept.

In this book, we present strong scientific evidence that supports the important role of proper diet and physical activity on the prevention and management of cardio-metabolic diseases and mortality. Our focus is on older adults and healthy aging, as the aging population is increasing globally and is expected to nearly double by 2050. Millions of deaths worldwide are attributed to some of today’s most common diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and others.

It is now well-accepted that individuals who follow a healthy lifestyle live longer and are in better health. Key health behaviors such as physical activity and healthy diet are among the factors that contribute to reducing the risk of chronic diseases, improving quality of life, and promoting healthy aging.

The main aim of this book is to provide health professionals, clinicians, and students in medical and health-related disciplines with the most recent scientific evidence on the impact of diet and physical activity in the prevention and management of several chronic diseases that are prevalent in aging populations. Our goal is to provide accurate and well-established knowledge and to identify gaps in our knowledge as well as new challenges for current and future health professionals in our quest to find the safest way to healthy aging via proper diet and physical activity.

This book can serve as a primer for all health-care professionals involved in the prevention and management of cardiovascular and metabolic conditions with a special focus on older adults, or in a research lab that studies some aspects of lifestyle in relation to healthy aging.

The book is divided into five units. In every chapter, readers are provided with the latest, in-depth scientific evidence in specific areas.

Unit 1: Diet and Physical Activity as Determinants of Human Health. In Unit 1, we discuss the dual role of lifestyle, e.g., the negative (unhealthy lifestyle) or positive (healthy lifestyle) effects on health. We first describe the link between a suboptimal diet and physical inactivity with non-communicable diseases. Next, we discuss the concept and mechanisms of epigenetics, presenting how lifestyle stimuli can change our gene expression. We finish this unit by describing the beneficial role of healthy/prudent diets on health.

Unit 2: Basic Concepts of Physical Activity and Fitness. Unit 2 begins with an introduction to the fundamental knowledge needed for both basic and more complex definitions of physical activity, exercise, and fitness. We then describe the implications and health benefits of physical activity in adults.

Unit 3: Determinants of Healthy Aging. In Unit 3, we begin with a discussion on aging and age-related disease (e.g., the definition of healthy aging, the interface between healthy aging, longevity, and disease, the physiological changes in multiple organ systems through aging, measuring and monitoring tools). Next, we emphasize the role of nutrients, foods, and healthy dietary patterns on aging. For example, we discuss in detail the Mediterranean dietary pattern, the Nordic diet, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, the vegetarian diet, and the Okinawan diet by presenting the latest evidence-based data on this topic. We finish this unit by including the applicability of metrics used in physical activity for older adults as well as mechanisms to reduce sarcopenia and frailty, common health issues in older adults. We hope that this section will be a useful guide in the hands of health professionals and clinicians who manage older-adult patients by acknowledging the instrumental role of diet and physical activity as determinants of healthy aging.

Unit 4: Cardiovascular Health, Diet, and Physical Activity. Unit 4 is devoted to specific cardiovascular diseases common in older adults, e.g., heart failure and atrial/flutter fibrillation as well as the loss of normal endothelial function as a hallmark of vascular diseases. We discuss the challenges faced in the assessment and management of these diseases in adults and older adults. We also present specific exercise training and dietary interventions for these populations.

Unit 5: Cardio-metabolic Health, Diet, and Physical Activity. In Unit 5, we describe the most common metabolic diseases, which include diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, metabolic syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease, and obesity-induced cancers. Most of these conditions require a weight-loss intervention as part of the strategy to prevent and manage the disease. We provide evidence on the impact of diet- or exercise-alone interventions on muscle physiology in these patients and older adults. We also discuss the synergistic effects of diet and physical activity in achieving optimal health. Some of the distinctive features of the book are:

1. Well-established knowledge related to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases that affect human health.

2. Applicability to those interested in studying or working with older-adult patients.

3. An easy-to-use and read format that can be used for undergraduate and graduate teaching.

4. The latest evidence-based data to describe some of the healthiest dietary patterns according to the 2015 Dietary

Guidelines for Americans: the Mediterranean-style eating pattern, the DASH diet, the Nordic dietary pattern, and the vegetarian-type dietary pattern.

5. Highlighted main messages (key points) at the end of each chapter.

6. Over 200 “Self-assessment Questions” and answers that offer readers the most comprehensive, and up-to-date coverage in relation to the material presented in the book.

7. Useful links and related bibliographies at the end of each chapter with patent-related information and services.

8. A collection of clinical “Case scenarios” at the end of each chapter in Units 4 and 5, for students and health professionals to enhance their knowledge and practice skills relevant to each clinical condition.

We hope that this book can serve as a valuable tool to students in medical and health-related disciplines and to health professionals, including dietitians and nutritionists, exercise physiologists, athletic trainers, nurses, physicians, geriatricians, and other health professionals. We hope that the information included in this book will advance the implementation of non-pharmacological strategies that include proper dietary and exercise interventions to better manage cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in adults and older adults, ultimately leading to healthy aging.

We are grateful to Ioanna Katsaroli MSc, Mara Alepoudea cMMedSci, Athanasia Kyrkili ΜSc, Alexandros Tsigkas MSc, Michael Georgoulis PhD, Natasha Kolomvotsou PhD, Eleftheria Papachristou MSc, Despoina Chaloutsi, and Alexandra

Foskolou PhD. These passionate young scientists contributed tremendously to completing this book with thorough literature reviews, drafting and editing chapters, and helping during the final stages of book editing. Last, but not least we would like to thank the Wiley team for their dedication and professionalism; Mandy Collison, Tom Marriott, Ranjith Kumar Thanigasalam, Anitha Jasmine Stanley, and Ada Hagan, PhD.

We would like also to thank our families for their continuous love and support.

Summary:


Title: Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease: Diet, Physical Activity and Healthy Aging
Author: Christina N. Katsagoni, Peter Kokkinos, Labros S. Sidossis
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Year: 2023
Edition: – Edition
Language: English
Pages: 413
Ebook: PDF
File size: 51 MB
ISBN Number: 1119833442, 9781119833444
CBID: CBM339