Nutrition and gastronomy in the community of Cantabria

Abstract

Introduction: Cantabria is characterized by a large coastal territory and an important livestock tradition, which define its gastronomy. Objectives: population increasingly demands a healthy gastronomy, which promotes a state of health. We will analyze how is the gastronomy, food consumption, and nutritional profile in the community of Cantabria. We will try to relate it to the prevalence of obesity in Cantabria Methods: bibliographic search of scientific articles in PubMed, Google academic databases, and nutrition books. In addition, a search of materials in newspapers of Cantabria and institutions of Cantabria has been developed. Results: in Cantabria a greater amount of fish, oil, dairy products, pastries, pastries, cookies and cereals and fresh fruits is consumed compared to the national average. However, the consumption of soft drinks and soda, fresh vegetables, and bread is lower. With Galicia it occupies the first place in the consumption of fish, food of high nutritional value and high protein content. This consumption profile could contribute to lower energy intake (2038 kcal in 2016) and influence the prevalence of obesity in our community. According to data from 2016, Cantabria with a rate of 17,6% is the fourth community with the lowest prevalence of obesity in Spain. Conclusions: although the prevalence of obesity in our community is in the last places in Spain, the recommendations and nutritional objectives established for the Spanish population have not been reached. Cantabrian gastronomy has to promote a healthy diet, based on a lower contribution of fats and more complex carbohydrates to reach these recommendations.