CONCLUSIONS Pasta in the context of low-GI dietary patterns does not adversely affect adiposity and even reduces body weight and BMI compared with higher-GI dietary patterns .
OBJECTIVE Carbohydrate staples such as pasta have been implicated in the obesity epidemic .
It is unclear whether pasta contributes to weight gain or like other low-glycaemic index ( GI ) foods contributes to weight loss .
We synthesis ed the evidence of the effect of pasta on measures of adiposity .
The Italian National Food Consumption Survey INRAN-SCAI 2005-06: main results in terms of food consumption.
OBJECTIVE The current paper aims to present the main results of the Italian National Food Consumption Survey INRAN-SCAI 2005 - 06 . DESIGN A cross-sectional study was performed . Households were r and omly selected after geographical stratification of the national territory . Food consumption was assessed on three consecutive days through individual estimated dietary records . SETTING Italy . SUBJECTS The final study sample comprised 3323 subjects ( 1501 males and 1822 females ) aged 0.1 to 97.7 years belonging to 1329 households : fifty-two infants ( 0 - 2.9 years ) , 193 children ( 3 - 9.9 years ) , 247 teenagers ( 10 - 17.9 years ) , 2313 adults ( 18 - 64.9 years ) and 518 elderly ( 65 years and above ) . RESULTS Participation rate was 33 % . The mean ratio of estimated energy intake to estimated BMR was 1.41 in adults . Indicators of mean and high individual consumption are presented for fifteen large categories and fifty-one subcategories of foods and beverages , in the total population and in consumers , by age and sex categories . The overall consumption of fruit and vegetables was 418 g/d . The consumption of red meat  was approximately 700 g/week , expressed as raw weight . Some specific aspects of the Italian food consumption pattern were confirmed : a large contribution from bread , pasta and pizza to cereals , from olive oil to fats and from wine to alcoholic beverages . CONCLUSIONS The data base obtained from the survey will be the key reference for Italian food consumption during the coming years and will be utilized for a variety of purpose s including the assessment of nutrient intakes and risk analysis
CONCLUSIONS Pasta in the context of low-GI dietary patterns does not adversely affect adiposity and even reduces body weight and BMI compared with higher-GI dietary patterns .
OBJECTIVE Carbohydrate staples such as pasta have been implicated in the obesity epidemic .
It is unclear whether pasta contributes to weight gain or like other low-glycaemic index ( GI ) foods contributes to weight loss .
We synthesis ed the evidence of the effect of pasta on measures of adiposity .