Mediterranean Diet Adherence in a Sample of Italian Adolescents Attending Secondary School-The "#facciamoComunicAzione" Project.

Monica Dinu,Alessandro Clavarino,Giuditta Pagliai,Mariacarla Zavatarelli,On Behalf Of The Working Group Of The “#Facciamocomunicazione” Project ,Matilde Borriello,Livia Pisciotta,Roberto Galuffo,Roberto Solinas,Sofia Lotti,Ettore Acerra,Francesco Sofi

doi:10.3390/nu13082806

Abstract

Our aim was to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet in a group of 726 secondary school students (336 girls, 390 boys) who completed the web-based Medi-Lite questionnaire simultaneously, during school hours, at the “Istituto Professionale per l’Enogastronomia e l’Ospitalità Alberghiera Marco Polo” in Genoa, Italy. The mean adherence score was 9.28 ± 2.29, with significantly (p = 0.017) higher values in girls (9.5 ± 2.2) than boys (9.1 ± 2.4). As to the individual food components of the Medi-Lite score, 84% of students reported non-optimal consumption (i.e., the choice that yielded ≤ 1 point) of meat and meat products, and over 50% reported non-optimal consumption of vegetables, legumes, dairy products, and fish. Significant differences between girls and boys were observed for fruit (p = 0.003), cereals (p < 0.001), meat and meat products (p < 0.001), and dairy products (p = 0.003). By conducting a principal component analysis, we observed that Medi-Lite items on the consumption of some animal products (meat and meat products and dairy products) and some plant products (fruit, vegetables, and legumes) generated contrasting patterns of responses, denoting excessive consumption in the first case and underconsumption in the second. This result suggests the need for effective actions to promote healthy eating habits in young people.

Highlights

The Mediterranean diet is one of the most studied and appreciated dietary patterns in the scientific community [1]. It is characterized by a high consumption of plant foods, moderate consumption of fish, dairy products, and eggs, low consumption of meat and meat products, and olive oil as the main source of fat
Despite the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, widely documented in both epidemiological and clinical studies [1], current surveys indicate that many Mediterranean countries are moving away from this dietary pattern [3,4]
A total of 726 students aged 17–19 years participated in the Flash Mob and completed the web-based Medi-Lite questionnaire

Summary

Introduction

The Mediterranean diet is one of the most studied and appreciated dietary patterns in the scientific community [1]. Nationally representative sample of Italian adolescents, more than half of the respondents reported not eating fruit and/or vegetables daily and more than 10% reported drinking carbonated, high-sugar drinks at least once a day [8]. These data are worrisome because unhealthy eating habits contribute to the development of overweight, obesity, and diet-related non-communicable diseases even at a young age, with serious implications for public health [3]. We conducted a Flash Mob on the Mediterranean diet in a secondary school with the aim of evaluating adherence to the Mediterranean diet in students who completed the web version of the Medi-Lite questionnaire, an evidence-based tool to measure adherence to the Mediterranean diet [12]

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Discussion

Conclusion