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Bullying victimization has been associated with body weight and physical fitness. In order to compare the prevalence of victimization among adolescents with normal weight or overweight/obesity and to evaluate the association between real or perceived physical fitness and self-perception profiles, a sample of 128 middle-school youths (mean age: 12.2 ± 0.8 years, 61% males) was recruited. The body mass index (BMI) Z score was calculated. Physical fitness was assessed by hand grip strength (HGS), long jump (LJ), and a 3 min step test (3MST). Perceived physical fitness, self-perception profiles (social competence, athletic competence, and physical appearance), and experiences of victimization (teasing about physical appearance, verbal offenses, and exclusion from group activities) were explored using validated questionnaires. Eighty youths (62.5%) showed overweight/obesity. Compared to their counterparts, normal-weight subjects showed lower HGS and perceived muscular strength; higher LJ and 3MST performance; higher perceived overall fitness, speed and flexibility, and physical appearance. Teasing and verbal offences were more frequent among students with overweight/obesity. Being teased about physical aspects was positively related with the BMI Z score. Exclusion from groups was positively associated with LJ performance. All the types of victimization investigated were inversely related to perceived social competence. These findings suggest that self-perception may protect one from victimization, regardless of nutritional status.

Malnutrition is common in stroke patients, as it is associated with neurological and cognitive impairment as well as clinical outcomes. Nutritional screening is a process with which to categorize the risk of malnutrition (i.e., nutritional risk) based on validated tools/procedures, which need to be rapid, simple, cost-effective, and reliable in the clinical setting. This review focuses on the tools/procedures used in stroke patients to assess nutritional risk, with a particular focus on their relationships with patients' clinical characteristics and outcomes. Different screening tools/procedures have been used in stroke patients, which have shown varying prevalence in terms of nutritional risk (higher in rehabilitation units) and significant relationships with clinical outcomes in the short- and long term, such as infection, disability, and mortality. Indeed, there have been few attempts to compare the usefulness and reliability of the different tools/procedures. More evidence is needed to identify appropriate approaches to assessing nutritional risk among stroke patients in the acute and sub-acute phase of disease or during rehabilitation; to evaluate the impact of nutritional treatment on the risk of malnutrition during hospital stay or rehabilitation unit; and to include nutritional screening in well-defined nutritional care protocols.

COVID-19 is an unprecedented global pandemic. On 12 March 2020, a lockdown order was issued in Italy in attempt to contain the health crisis. The study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on diet, physical activity, sleep quality, and distress in an Italian cohort. An online anonymous interview, which included validated questionnaires was created to compare lifestyle habits pre- and during the lockdown. Data analysis from 604 subjects with a mean age of 29.8 years was carried out using multivariate analysis. Compared to pre-COVID-19 times, 67% of people changed their eating habits and increased consumption of foods containing added sugars. Women and men with low adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) were more likely to be physically inactive ( p < 0.0001 and p < 0.01, respectively). Results from logistic regression showed a three times higher risk of being inactive if adherence to the MedDiet was low ( p < 0.0001), especially in men between 26 and 35 years. Lower levels of distress were reported in males who were physically active (89%) ( p < 0.001). Our findings may help to identify effective lifestyle interventions during restrictive conditions.