Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations?
The Mediterranean diet (MD) has been sponsored worldwide as a healthy and sustainable diet. Our aim was to update and compare MD adherence and food choices across several Southern European countries: Spain (SP), Portugal (PT), Italy (IT), Greece (GR), and Cyprus (CY) (MED, Mediterranean), and Bulgar...
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/5/1432 |
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| author | Stefano Quarta Marika Massaro Mihail Chervenkov Teodora Ivanova Dessislava Dimitrova Rui Jorge Vanda Andrade Elena Philippou Constantinos Zisimou Viktorija Maksimova Katarina Smilkov Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova Lence Miloseva Tatjana Ruskovska Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou Christos A. Kontogiorgis Julio Sánchez-Meca Paula Pinto María-Teresa García-Conesa |
| author_facet | Stefano Quarta Marika Massaro Mihail Chervenkov Teodora Ivanova Dessislava Dimitrova Rui Jorge Vanda Andrade Elena Philippou Constantinos Zisimou Viktorija Maksimova Katarina Smilkov Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova Lence Miloseva Tatjana Ruskovska Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou Christos A. Kontogiorgis Julio Sánchez-Meca Paula Pinto María-Teresa García-Conesa |
| author_sort | Stefano Quarta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Mediterranean diet (MD) has been sponsored worldwide as a healthy and sustainable diet. Our aim was to update and compare MD adherence and food choices across several Southern European countries: Spain (SP), Portugal (PT), Italy (IT), Greece (GR), and Cyprus (CY) (MED, Mediterranean), and Bulgaria (BG) and the Republic of North Macedonia (NMK) (non-MED, non-Mediterranean). Participants (<i>N</i> = 3145, ≥18 y) completed a survey (MeDiWeB) with sociodemographic, anthropometric, and food questions (14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener, 14-MEDAS). The MED and non-MED populations showed moderate (7.08 ± 1.96) and weak (5.58 ± 1.82) MD adherence, respectively, with significant yet small differences across countries (SP > PT > GR > IT > CY > BG > NMK, <i>p</i>-value < 0.001). The MED participants scored higher than the non-MED ones for most of the Mediterranean-typical foods, with the greatest differences found for olive oil (OO) and white meat preference. In most countries, ≥70% of the participants reported quantities of red meat, butter, sweet drinks, and desserts below the recommended cutoff points, whereas <50% achieved the targets for plant-based foods, OO, fish, and wine. Being a woman and increasing age were associated with superior adherence (<i>p</i>-value < 0.001), but differences were rather small. Our results suggest that the campaigns carried out to support and reinforce the MD and to promote plant-based foods have limited success across Southern Europe, and that more hard-hitting strategies are needed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:01:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-00b2a79cdb404e308852290c6a3c3b9a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:01:26Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-00b2a79cdb404e308852290c6a3c3b9a2023-11-21T16:54:41ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432021-04-01135143210.3390/nu13051432Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations?Stefano Quarta0Marika Massaro1Mihail Chervenkov2Teodora Ivanova3Dessislava Dimitrova4Rui Jorge5Vanda Andrade6Elena Philippou7Constantinos Zisimou8Viktorija Maksimova9Katarina Smilkov10Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova11Lence Miloseva12Tatjana Ruskovska13Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou14Christos A. Kontogiorgis15Julio Sánchez-Meca16Paula Pinto17María-Teresa García-Conesa18Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, ItalyNational Research Council (CNR), Institute of Clinical Physiology, 73100 Lecce, ItalyFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, BulgariaSlow Food in Bulgaria, 9 Pierre De Geytre St. bl. 3, 1113 Sofia, BulgariaSlow Food in Bulgaria, 9 Pierre De Geytre St. bl. 3, 1113 Sofia, BulgariaInstituto Politécnico de Santarém, Escola Superior Agraria, 2001-904 Santarém, PortugalInstituto Politécnico de Santarém, Escola Superior Agraria, 2001-904 Santarém, PortugalDepartment of Life and Health Sciences, School of Sciences and Engineering, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 1700, CyprusDepartment of Life and Health Sciences, School of Sciences and Engineering, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 1700, CyprusFaculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North MacedoniaFaculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North MacedoniaFaculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North MacedoniaFaculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North MacedoniaFaculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North MacedoniaLaboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, GreeceLaboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, GreeceDepartment of Basic Psychology & Methodology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainInstituto Politécnico de Santarém, Escola Superior Agraria, 2001-904 Santarém, PortugalResearch Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEBAS-CSIC), Campus de Espinardo, P.O. Box 164, 30100 Murcia, SpainThe Mediterranean diet (MD) has been sponsored worldwide as a healthy and sustainable diet. Our aim was to update and compare MD adherence and food choices across several Southern European countries: Spain (SP), Portugal (PT), Italy (IT), Greece (GR), and Cyprus (CY) (MED, Mediterranean), and Bulgaria (BG) and the Republic of North Macedonia (NMK) (non-MED, non-Mediterranean). Participants (<i>N</i> = 3145, ≥18 y) completed a survey (MeDiWeB) with sociodemographic, anthropometric, and food questions (14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener, 14-MEDAS). The MED and non-MED populations showed moderate (7.08 ± 1.96) and weak (5.58 ± 1.82) MD adherence, respectively, with significant yet small differences across countries (SP > PT > GR > IT > CY > BG > NMK, <i>p</i>-value < 0.001). The MED participants scored higher than the non-MED ones for most of the Mediterranean-typical foods, with the greatest differences found for olive oil (OO) and white meat preference. In most countries, ≥70% of the participants reported quantities of red meat, butter, sweet drinks, and desserts below the recommended cutoff points, whereas <50% achieved the targets for plant-based foods, OO, fish, and wine. Being a woman and increasing age were associated with superior adherence (<i>p</i>-value < 0.001), but differences were rather small. Our results suggest that the campaigns carried out to support and reinforce the MD and to promote plant-based foods have limited success across Southern Europe, and that more hard-hitting strategies are needed.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/5/1432Mediterranean dietMeDiWeB questionnairesexagebody mass indexdisease status |
| spellingShingle | Stefano Quarta Marika Massaro Mihail Chervenkov Teodora Ivanova Dessislava Dimitrova Rui Jorge Vanda Andrade Elena Philippou Constantinos Zisimou Viktorija Maksimova Katarina Smilkov Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova Lence Miloseva Tatjana Ruskovska Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou Christos A. Kontogiorgis Julio Sánchez-Meca Paula Pinto María-Teresa García-Conesa Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations? Nutrients Mediterranean diet MeDiWeB questionnaire sex age body mass index disease status |
| title | Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations? |
| title_full | Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations? |
| title_fullStr | Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations? |
| title_short | Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations? |
| title_sort | persistent moderate to weak mediterranean diet adherence and low scoring for plant based foods across several southern european countries are we overlooking the mediterranean diet recommendations |
| topic | Mediterranean diet MeDiWeB questionnaire sex age body mass index disease status |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/5/1432 |
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