Stoccareddo

Infobox CityIT
official_name = Stoccareddo


image_caption =
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region = Veneto
province = Vincenza
mayor =
mayor_party =
elevation_footnotes = [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IT/0/Stoccareddo.html Maps, Weather, and Airports for Stoccareddo, Italy ] ]
elevation_m = 981
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population_footnotes =
population_as_of =
population_total = 400
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coordinates = coord|45.8667|N|11.6000|E|type:city|display=inline,title
gentilic =
telephone = (+39) 0424
postalcode = 36032
frazioni =
saint = San Bartolomeo
day =
mapx = 45.8667
mapy = 11.6000
locator_position =
native_name =
name =


website = http://www.stoccareddo.it/

Stoccareddo is a village in the "comune" of Gallio, Province of Vicenza, Italy. It is known for its 400 villagers (380 of them with the surname Baù) with great health who tend to be able to consume fatty foods without the consequences of strokes and heart attacks. Informally, Stoccareddo is known as "Il paese dei Baù", meaning "The Country of the Baù".plainlinks|http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallio|Gallio on the plainlinks|http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagina_principale|Italian Wikipedia]

History and geography

Stoccareddo is a secluded village in the Italian Alps that was, until the late 20th century, very isolated. Stoccareddo was first inhabited by a Danish family by the surname Baù about 800 years ago. It was destroyed during World War I, but was rebuilt during the early 1920s by its citizens. Because of its location, the villagers, mainly Baùs, were not able to mingle with any outside citizens. The continuous centuries of seclusion created a gene pool of Baùs that had good health.

Health phenomenon

Almost all of Stoccareddo's villagers have the surname Baù (bow-ˈooh), [http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2832781&page=1 ABC News: Medical Mystery: Secret to Long Life? ] ] and are all from the same family. Most of Stoccareddo's villagers have phenomenally good health, despite their diet of fried cheeses and other unhealthy Italian delicacies.20/20: Medical Mysteries. Aired March 14 2008] According to "The Independent", 38% of Stoccareddo's men have high cholesterol, as opposed to the Italian average of 21%. However, about 23% of Italian men have low levels of HDL (good cholesterol) as opposed to 5.4% of men in Stoccareddo. Also, hypertension (high blood pressure) affects about 33% of Italian men, but only 6.5% of Stoccareddo men.

Geneticist Uros Hladnik has stated that "there is not a single case of genetic disease to be found among the Baus."

Inbreeding

The villagers of Stoccareddo are prominent for inbreeding. Although many Baùs have children with other Baùs, they tend to marry more distant relatives and not first cousins, which can cause genetic defects. [http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2832781&page=1 ABC News: Medical Mystery: Secret to Long Life? ] ] There is a local saying, "Only a Baù can understand a Baù." [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/an-alpine-shangrila-the-town-that-holds-secret-of-good-health-422762.html An Alpine Shangri-La: The town that holds secret of good health - Europe, News - The Independent ] ] Their inbreeding over a period of over eight centuries is likely to be the reason why many citizens of Stoccareddo are so healthy, despite their unhealthy diet.

References

External links

*it icon [http://www.stoccareddo.it/ Stoccareddo]