Adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet is inversely associated with body mass index and obesity in a Spanish population
Open accessAbstract
The Mediterranean diet is a healthy eating pattern with protective effects on chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the relation between BMI and obesity and the level of adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet. The subjects were Spanish men (n = 1547) and women (n = 1615) aged 25-74 y who were examined in 1999-2000, in a population-based, cross-sectional survey in the northeast of Spain (Girona). Dietary intake was assessed using a FFQ. A Mediterranean diet score, including foods considered to be characteristic components of the traditional Mediterranean diet (vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts, fish, meat, cereals, olive oil, and wine) was created. An increase of 5 U in the dietary score was associated with a change in the BMI of 0.43 (P = 0.030) and 0.68 (P = 0.007), after controlling for potential confounders, in men and women, respectively. The obesity risk decreased in men (P = 0.010) and women (P = 0.013) with increasing adherence to the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern. The population in the top tertile of this score were less likely to be obese in both genders [odds ratio (OR) and (95% CI): 0.61 (0.40-0.92) in men; 0.61 (0.40-0.93) in women] after adjusting for potential confounders. These data suggest that the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern is inversely associated with BMI and obesity. This finding may be useful in the development of dietary approaches for dietary counseling and the prevention of obesity.
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Epidemiological studies have described an inverse association of adherence to the Mediterranean diet with body mass index and weight gain.
“epidemiological studies have described an inverse association of adherence to MD with Body Mass Index (BMI) and weight gain [17, 18].”
From Mediterranean Diet and Obesity-related Disorders: What is the Evidence? (2022) · cites this paper as [18]
Several population-based and prospective epidemiological studies have shown that adherence to the Mediterranean diet might have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, several types of cancers, allergic diseases, and Alzheimer and Parkinson's disease.
“Several population-based and prospective epidemiological studies have shown that adherence to the Mediterranean diet might have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, several type of cancers, allergic diseases and, most recently, Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease (7–18).”
From Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet: Metabolic and Molecular Mechanisms (2018) · cites this paper as [10]
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- Authors
- Schröder, H., Marrugat, J., Vila, J., Covas, M. I., & Elosua, R.
- Affiliations
- Municipal Institute for Medical Research (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Schröder, Helmut
- Venue
- The Journal of Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2004-12
- Volume
- 134
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 3355-3361
- ISSN
- 0022-3166 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2257532954
- Cited by
- 392
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 17.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- European Regional Development Fund (2FD097-0297-CO2-01)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Dietary Effects on Health
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
- Keywords
- Mediterranean diet, dietary adherence, body mass index, obesity, Mediterranean diet score, dietary habits, obesity prevention, nutrition counseling, Spanish adults
- MeSH terms
- Olive Oil, Adult, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Fruit, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Plant Oils, Risk, Smoking, Spain, Vegetables, Body Mass Index, Diet, Mediterranean, Body Size
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