Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Consumption of Its Food Groups in a Sample of over 10,000 Italian Adults †
by
, , , and
Sofia Lotti
*
,
Monica Dinu
,
Giuditta Pagliai
,
Marta Tristan Asensi
,
Antonia Napoletano
,
Barbara Colombini
and
Francesco Sofi
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the 14th European Nutrition Conference FENS 2023, Belgrade, Serbia, 14–17 November 2023.
Proceedings 2023, 91(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091016
Published: 14 November 2023
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 14th European Nutrition Conference FENS 2023)
Abstract
:Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) has been shown to promote health and reduce the prevalence of several chronic diseases. However, to date, more and more countries in the Mediterranean basin seem to be moving away from their traditional eating habits, including Italy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate adherence to the MD and the consumption of its food groups in a large sample of Italian adults. After the removal of duplicates, the study sample comprised 10,916 questionnaires, of which 7088 were completed by women (65%) and 3828 by men (35%). The dietary intake of each food group component in the questionnaire was estimated by multiplying the frequency by the portion size. The mean Medi-Lite score was 12 ± 2.5, suggesting a moderate level of MD adherence, with a significantly (p < 0.05) higher level of adherence observed in women and older subjects. The analysis of the consumption of the individual food groups showed a consumption behavior in line with the national dietary recommendations of fruit (342 g/day), pasta (96 g/day), white meat (302 g/week) and fish (296 g/week). On the other hand, a low consumption of vegetables (270 g/day), bread (85 g/day), legumes (233 g/week) and milk and dairy products (187 g/day) emerged. In addition, the consumption of red meat (209 g/week) was observed to be twice as high as the national guidelines. Subgroup analysis showed that women and the elderly consumed significantly (p < 0.001) more fruit, vegetables, and bread and less meat and meat products than did men and younger subjects. Upon a logistic regression analysis adjusted for possible confounding factors, women showed an increased probability (OR 1.34, 95%CI 1.22–1.46; p < 0.001) of being in the highest MD adherence tertile (i.e., Medi-Lite score > 11). Although the sample reported moderate adherence to MD, the consumption of some typically Mediterranean food groups such as vegetables, legumes and bread is still low, while the consumption of red meat is high.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization: S.L., M.D., F.S.; Analysis and interpretation of the data: S.L., A.N., M.T.A., M.D., F.S.; Drafting of the article: S.L., G.P., B.C., F.S., Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: A.N., M.T.A., G.P.; Final approval of the article: G.P., B.C., M.D., F.S.; Statistical expertise: M.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data (large sample) were obtained by accessing http://www.medi-lite.com from January 2019 to December 2022.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors report no conflict of interest.
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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Lotti, S.; Dinu, M.; Pagliai, G.; Tristan Asensi, M.; Napoletano, A.; Colombini, B.; Sofi, F. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Consumption of Its Food Groups in a Sample of over 10,000 Italian Adults. Proceedings 2023, 91, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091016
AMA Style
Lotti S, Dinu M, Pagliai G, Tristan Asensi M, Napoletano A, Colombini B, Sofi F. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Consumption of Its Food Groups in a Sample of over 10,000 Italian Adults. Proceedings. 2023; 91(1):16. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091016
Chicago/Turabian StyleLotti, Sofia, Monica Dinu, Giuditta Pagliai, Marta Tristan Asensi, Antonia Napoletano, Barbara Colombini, and Francesco Sofi. 2023. "Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Consumption of Its Food Groups in a Sample of over 10,000 Italian Adults" Proceedings 91, no. 1: 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091016
