Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was positively associated with micronutrient adequacy and negatively associated with dietary energy density among adolescents

Abstract

Background:The possible associations between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and micronutrient and energy intakes are unknown among Israeli adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional, nationally representative, school-based study was conducted in Israeli adolescents. Schoolchildren (n = 5005), aged 11-18 years, who completed a food frequency questionnaire and had complete data to compose a 14-item modified KIDMED score were included. Results: The nutrient intakes for all the micronutrients showed a significant monotonic increase in the poor, average and good KIDMED groups (all P < 0.001). The same monotonic increasing was also shown in nutrient densities for most micronutrients (for calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B 6 , folate in both genders, additionally for phosphorus in girls) (all P < 0.05). A positive association was shown between the percentages of students with adequate intakes (AIs) or recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) in micronutrients and modified KIDMED scores. The positive association also existed between the number of micronutrients with AIs or RDAs and modified KIDMED scores (r = 0.495 and 0.501, P < 0.001) for boys and girls, respectively. By contrast, dietary energy density (calibrated by 1000 kcal) was negatively linearly associated with modified KIDMED scores, and a significant monotonic decrease in energy density was shown among the poor, average and good KIDMED groups (all P < 0.001). Conclusions: The modified KIDMED score was positively associated with better micronutrient profile and negatively associated with dietary energy density in Israeli adolescents, indicating that the KIDMED index is a useful tool for combating the malnutrition of micronutrient deficiency and overweight/obesity. 41

Mediterranean diet: a nutrient‐packed diet and a healthy lifestyle for a sustainable world

“…The MD is a highly diversified heritage of different food cultures and systems, which vary from country to country in the Mediterranean basin. It is important to note that although the MD has ancient beginnings, it can serve as a healthy dietary template for people today; adherence to the diet is easy and its benefits and transferability to non‐Mediterranean regions have been proven 10–21 …”

Animal Protein Intake Is Associated with General Adiposity in Adolescents: The Teen Food and Development Study

“…The development of obesity is multifactorial [13]: In general, imbalances in the diet, e.g., energy-dense diet. Several investigations on factors that contribute to childhood and adolescent obesity have focused on dietary factors [14][15][16][17][18] or habits [19][20][21][22][23]. One macronutrient that is particularly critical for normal growth and development of adolescents is protein [24], but its role in obesity development is still controversial.…”

Relative validation of the adapted Mediterranean Diet Score for Adolescents by comparison with nutritional biomarkers and nutrient and food intakes: the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study

“…Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet may reduce the negative effect of overweight and obesity and decrease different chronic non-communicable diseases such as CVD (1) . Likewise, greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet could reduce the burden of malnutrition (overnutrition and micronutrient deficiency) (4) .…”