Abstract
Several studies had revealed that following the Mediterranean diet (MD) contributes to beneficial health status and a decreased risk of many chronic diseases. The aim of our study was to assess adherence to MD in Casablanca City and to identify the relationship between MD adherence and sociodemographic and lifestyle parameters. This cross-sectional study concerned 719 subjects with complete dietary data. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire including sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. The dietary intake was assessed with the use of a food-frequency questionnaire. The compliance with MD was evaluated with a simplified MD score. Our study showed that high adherence to the MD was characterized by high intakes of vegetables, fruits, pulses, fish, cereals, olive oil, and low meat and dairy consumption according to the Simplified MD score. As regard to the multivariate logistic, being a man, being married, persons with a level of education >6 years, luxurious housing, and consumption of alcohol were associated with a higher adherence to MD, while, the overweight was negatively associated with a higher adherence to MD. Maintaining the traditional MD pattern is crucial for public health; in this way, more research is needed in this area in order to precisely measure these associations.
Highlights
Mediterranean diet (MD) is vastly considered the overall dietary habits of the Mediterranean Basin [1]. ere are several variants of the MD; each Mediterranean country has its own gastronomic customs influenced by various factors such as economic, sociocultural, and religious factors [2]
Epidemiological, biochemical, and clinical research has provided a solid biologic foundation for the health advantages of the MD adherence, and it was associated with intakes of many nutrients: fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals such as vitamin B, calcium, magnesium, and potassium that can be taken throughout the day, the week, and occasionally and which are thought of as having beneficial effects on a wide range of physiological processes [4, 5]. e MD was associated with a low rate of many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease [6, 7], diabetes [8], obesity [9], and metabolic syndrome [10]; there is a proposal that the MD could have some favorable effect on cancer risk [11, 12]
12 (1.64%) individuals were expelled from the computation of the MD score; these participants had at least one missing data in at least one component of MD adherence score. erefore, our sample consists of 719 people with complete dietary data
Summary
Mediterranean diet (MD) is vastly considered the overall dietary habits of the Mediterranean Basin [1]. ere are several variants of the MD; each Mediterranean country has its own gastronomic customs influenced by various factors such as economic, sociocultural, and religious factors [2]. Ere are several variants of the MD; each Mediterranean country has its own gastronomic customs influenced by various factors such as economic, sociocultural, and religious factors [2]. This diet is characterized by some common features: high intake of fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, cereals (including bread), and fish, olive oil as the main source of fat, moderate intake of dairy products, eggs, and poultry, moderate intake of alcohol (mainly wine during meals), and low intake of sweets, red meat, and its derivatives [3]. Its dietary patterns incurring profound and rapid modifications as a consequent of growing urbanization, economic development, globalization, and increased production in the food industry, conduct to a nutritional transition [15]
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