Determination of Body Mass Index and Physical Activity in Normal Weight Children and Evaluation of Salivary Levels of Interleukin 10 and Interleukin 17

In western societies, dietary habits are often characterized by hypercaloric food ingestion, and this seems to account for the outcome of chronic pathologies, even including obesity and diabetes. On these grounds, we enrolled 20 normal weight schoolchildren who received healthy eating recommendations. Then, over a period of one year body mass index (BMI), physical activity (PA), and salivary levels of interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-17 were measured at time 0 (baseline), at time 1 (after six months) and at time 2 (after one year, even including the summer pause). At T1, in children who followed dietary eating recommendations (group “a”) BMI decreased, while in children who did not follow dietary recommendations (group “b”), BMI significantly increased. Decrease in PA was associated to an increased BMI and viceversa. In terms of salivary cytokine levels, in group “b” children values of IL-17 augmented at T1 and at T2. On the other hand, in group “a” children values of IL-17 diminished both at T1 and at T2. Moreover, in group “b” children, IL-10 salivary levels decreased at T1 and at T2. Viceversa, in group “a” children IL-10 significantly increased at T2. Of note, BMI variations, even if statistically significant, fluctuated within normal ranges and no change of BMI cutoff points seems to be applicable. In conclusion, according to the present results, no adherence to healthy dietary recommendations with increase in BMI and reduction in PA seems to correspond to a more inflammatory profile (increase in IL-17). Conversely, adherence to healthy eating recommendations with higher PA and lower BMI seems to be associated to an anti-inflammatory profile (increase in IL-10).