Indexing & Abstracting
Luna Rizzo
Affiliation :
University of Bologna, Italy,Italy
Biography :
My research focuses on the investigation of cause-effect-relationships in different fields of human physiology, primarily applied exercise physiology. I am particularly interested in analyzing how different kinds of “daily lifestyle practices and habits/sedentary behaviour†can affect health in mid-life population provoking cardiometabolic diseases as a consequence of inactivity physiology – and I am particularly attracted by the behavioral interventions to prevent CVDs or reduce Cardiovascular Risk.
To date, I worked in three different research areas: investigation of possible changes in cardiovascular and metabolic response (CVD-MS) stimulated by sedentary behaviours in population, providing further insight as to the mechanisms by which metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease occurs due to paradigm of inactivity physiology; factors influencing thermoregulation and exercise performance in different environment conditions including the optimization of hydration status by the use of fluid replacement in elite athletes-marathon runners, effect of heat and prior exercise on quadriceps and grip force production; effect of circulating Sclerostin, Preadipocyte factor-1 and Irisin levels on bone mineral density in prepubertal athletes practicing high impact weight-bearing exercise and its correlation with body composition and adipocytokine values.
During my pre-doctoral training period, in the physiological field, I implemented a new method (ActivPALTM professional physical activity monitor) to observe changes in cardiometabolic risk biomarkers with increased sedentary behaviour that is associated to reduced physical activity (PA) levels. We hypothesize that, in order to reduce the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components, it may not only be important to increase participation in physical activity, but also to reduce time spent watching TV (and possibly other sedentary behaviours). Findings suggest that, physical exercise will result in significant reductions in CVD mortality due to a lower associated risk of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and some forms of cancer (Warren et al., 2010).
My master’s thesis in Exercise Physiology analyzed the effects of thermoregulatory and circulatory responses to prolonged exercise in the heat. I was part of a team contributing to the development of experimental protocol and health screening procedure. I worked on the effect of hypohydration and simulated hyperhydration on running economy (RE) and cardiovascular drift (CVD), and on the effect of diuretic-induced dehydration on prolonged exercise in hot and cool condition. The main intervention of this study was to investigate the effect of simulating bodyweight gain associated with a hyperhydrated state.
In my Ph.D. dissertation, I discussed the “Effect of circulating hormones on bone mineral density in athletes practicing foot-ground reaction force during exercise and its correlation with physiological and body
Research Interest :
My research focuses on the investigation of cause-effect-relationships in different fields of human physiology, primarily applied exercise physiology. I am particularly interested in analyzing how different kinds of “daily lifestyle practices and habits/sedentary behaviour†can affect health in mid-life population provoking cardiometabolic diseases as a consequence of inactivity physiology – and I am particularly attracted by the behavioral interventions to prevent CVDs or reduce Cardiovascular Risk.