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?

Quarta, Stefano; Massaro, Marika; Chervenkov, Mihail; Ivanova, Teodora; Dimitrova, Dessislava; Jorge, Rui; Andrade, Vanda; Philippou, Elena; Zisimou, Constantinos; Maksimova, Viktorija; Smilkov, Katarina; Ackova, Darinka Gjorgieva; Miloseva, Lence; Ruskovska, Tatjana; Deligiannidou, Georgia-Eirini; Kontogiorgis, Christos; Meca, Julio Sánchez; Pinto, Paula; García‐Conesa, María‐Teresa

doi:10.3390/nu13051432

Cited by 27 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 87 publications

(187 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our interest in food plants was additionally shaped by household food consumption analyses before and shortly after the democratization of the country in 1989, which showed very low consumption of fruits and vegetables. These habits have not changed since then [41,42]. The current paper aimed to provide evidence about food, medicinal and fodder plants grown in home gardens in rural regions in Bulgaria and to discuss the importance of ethnobotanical and horticultural knowledge that backs up the provisional as well as conservational role of these gardens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enough to Feed Ourselves!—Food Plants in Bulgarian Rural Home Gardens

Ivanova

Bosseva

Chervenkov

et al. 2021

Plants

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The home garden is a unique human-nature interspace that accommodates a diverse spectrum of plant species and provides multiple services to households. One of the most important roles of home gardens is to shelter the agricultural plant diversity that provides for diverse and healthy nutrition, especially in rural communities. While tropical home gardens have received wide recognition due to their provisional function for the local communities, temperate and especially European home gardens have been discussed less frequently as a source of subsistence. The main objectives of the current study were to document plant species grown in Bulgarian rural home gardens and to explore related local knowledge and cultural practices that influence food plant diversity, its selection and preservation. Field work was focused on settlements situated in eight provinces in South and North-West Bulgaria. Participants representing 65 home gardens were approached through semi-structured interviews. Home gardens were found to harbor 145 cultivated and semi-cultivated plant taxa, used as food, medicinal and aromatic plants and as animal fodder. Members of the Rosaceae family were most numerous. The largest part of the garden area was occupied by vegetable crops of Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae. In 63.1% of the studied households, the food growing area comprised more than 2/3 of the total size of the garden. Most preferred crops reflected the social and cultural importance of food self-provisioning, especially in the rural areas. The provisional role of the home gardens in regard to preparation of traditional foods and the driving forces for seed saving are discussed.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enough to Feed Ourselves!—Food Plants in Bulgarian Rural Home Gardens

Ivanova

Bosseva

Chervenkov

et al. 2021

Plants

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Unfortunately, many Mediterranean societies are moving away from their traditional dietary pattern, while some countries in Northern Europe and around the world are adopting a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern [25]. For example, previous studies have indicated a persistent moderate-to-weak adherence to the MD across several southern European countries, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus [58]. Some variations can be expected, probably due to the applied methodological framework and different instru-ments used for assessing adherence to the MD [55].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Body Mass Index Change: A Follow-Up Study in the General Population of Southern Croatia

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is one of the most healthful dietary patterns, beneficial for humans and the environment. However, the MD has recently exhibited a declining trend, especially in younger and less affluent people. This study investigated the association between socioeconomic indicators and adherence to the MD in 4671 adult subjects from Dalmatia, Croatia (age range 18–98 years; 61.9% were women). Additionally, in the follow-up we examined the change in adherence to the MD and in BMI (subsample, N = 1342; 62.5% were women; mean follow-up time of 5.8 years). The adherence to the MD was based on the Mediterranean Diet Serving Score (range 0–24 points, cut-off value ≥ 14 points), with a prevalence in the overall sample of 28.5%. Higher odds of adherence to the MD were recorded in women, older subjects, and those with higher level of objective material status, while it was less likely in the period after economic crisis of 2007–2008. Additionally, we detected no change in adherence to the MD in the follow-up subsample (−8.5%, p = 0.056), but there was an increase in BMI (+6.5%, p < 0.001). We recorded an increase in adherence for nuts (+127.5%), sweets (+112.6%), red meat (+56.4%), and wine (+50.0%), unlike the reduction in adherence for vegetables (−35.1%), fish (−23.4%), white meat (−11.6%), cereals (−10.9%), and dairy products (−9.6%). Similar results were obtained across all quartiles of objective material status. Over time, the absolute change in the MD score was positively associated with female gender, age, higher education, and moderate physical activity, but it was negatively associated with adherence to the MD at baseline. BMI change was positively associated with female gender, and negatively with initial BMI, initial adherence to the MD, and MD change. Our findings point towards a less than ideal adherence to the MD in the general population of southern Croatia, and identify important characteristics associated with adherence change over time, informing necessary interventions aimed at increasing MD uptake.

show abstract

“…The current study is part of a research project carried out under the frame of MeDiWeB (Mediterranean Diet and Well-Being) consortium [29][30][31] which was designed to assess MD adherence and other Mediterranean lifestyle characteristics across participants of three MED (Spain, SP; Italy IT; Portugal PT) and two non-MED countries (Bulgaria, BG; Republic of North Macedonia, NMK), and to explore their association with SWB. For this purpose, we developed and applied an online questionnaire (MeDiWeB questionnaire) with 57 questions divided into three sections [29].…”

Section: Study Design and Ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After consenting to fill the questionnaire, the participants proceeded to the second section which included a number of questions about sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, health related characteristics (BMI and diagnosed pathology), and SWB. The third section was devoted to dietary habits and included, among others, the 14 items used to calculate MD adherence (14-MEDAS score) [31]. The questions were structured following the OECD recommendations regarding subjective self-reporting, specifically, inclusion of subjective evaluation questions at or near the beginning of the survey, to avoid any potential bias effects [3].…”

Section: Study Design and Ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[18,27,28]. To study MD adherence and other lifestyle components across different European Mediterranean (MED) and non-Mediterranean (non-MED) countries, as well as its association with some hedonic and eudaimonic indicators of well-being, we designed a questionnaire (MeDiWeB, Mediterranean Diet and Well-Being [29,30]) containing questions about: (i) sociodemographic factors; (ii) Mediterranean lifestyle and MD adherence, using a cross-national validated version of the 14-MEDAS (Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener) [31], and (iii) hedonic and eudaimonic indicators of well-being. In a first step, we used the dietary habits section of the MeDiWeB survey to assess and compare MD adherence across different European MED and non-MED countries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exploring Hedonic and Eudaimonic Items of Well-Being in Mediterranean and Non-Mediterranean Countries: Influence of Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors

Andrade

Quarta

Tagarro

et al. 2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Increased understanding of subjective well-being (SWB), as well as factors that influence it, are essential to enhance well-being at the individual and national level. We have applied a hedonic and eudaimonic 9-item composed tool (SWB score) to measure SWB across several Mediterranean (MED) and non-Mediterranean (non-MED) countries, and to explore the association between the SWB score and a range of sociodemographic, health and Mediterranean lifestyle factors. A specifically designed web-based questionnaire was distributed to adult participants (N = 2400) from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria and Republic of North Macedonia. Results showed that the SWB score was significantly different across the examined countries with the MED participants displaying slightly higher average scores than the non-MED ones (6.3 ± 1.5 vs. 6.1 ± 1.6, p = 0.002). Several sociodemographic, health status and lifestyle factors displayed a significant but limited association with the 9-item SWB score, with a multiple regression model explaining around 17% of the variance. Nevertheless, our results support that a closer adherence to Mediterranean lifestyle habits—the Mediterranean Diet, spending time with friends, family, and in nature, being active, and getting adequate rest at night—has a positive influence on the 9-item SWB score. Further research is needed to advance the understanding of the measuring and differentiating of SWB across different populations and to establish all the factors that influence it.

show abstract

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?

Cited by 27 publications

References 87 publications

Enough to Feed Ourselves!—Food Plants in Bulgarian Rural Home Gardens

Enough to Feed Ourselves!—Food Plants in Bulgarian Rural Home Gardens

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Body Mass Index Change: A Follow-Up Study in the General Population of Southern Croatia

Exploring Hedonic and Eudaimonic Items of Well-Being in Mediterranean and Non-Mediterranean Countries: Influence of Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About