Adherence to Mediterranean Diet and its main determinants in a sample of Italian adults: results from the ARIANNA cross-sectional survey

Abstract

IntroductionOver the last years, many Mediterranean countries, including Italy, have witnessed a shift away from the Mediterranean Diet, thus contributing to the high rates of overweight and obesity. The survey “Adherence to Mediterranean Diet in Italy (ARIANNA)” aimed to evaluate the Adherence to Mediterranean Diet (AMD) and its main determinants in the Italian population.Materials and methodsThis study started on March 2023 and was addressed to adults aged ≥17 years, born and resident in Italy, proficient in Italian. Data are collected electronically through a voluntary, anonymous and self-administered questionnaire on the project website. Univariate and then multivariate logistic regressions were performed to evaluate associations between AMD and demographic characteristics, socio-economic status, health status, and lifestyle.ResultsOn a total of 3,732 completed questionnaires, the 87.70% of the respondents was female and the 71.28% was 17–40 years old. The 83.82% of the respondents had medium AMD, 11.33% low and only 4.85% high. The multivariate analysis revealed that being male (p < 0.001), aged >40 years (p < 0.05), workers (p ≤ 0.001), and unemployed (p < 0.05), determined the probability of having a lower AMD. Vegans and vegetarian’s diets positively contributed to a higher AMD (p < 0.001).DiscussionThese results highlighted a medium AMD in the Italian adult participants and suggested the necessity to implement tailored public health intervention strategies to improve food habits.

Online Questionnaire with Fibromyalgia Patients Shows Negative Correlations between Disease Severity and Adherence to Mediterranean Diet

“…The results reported in Figures 4 and 5 show some critical issues on the part of FM patients in following MedDiet recommendations about the consumption of different foods, leading to poor/intermediate adherence to this dietary style. Our data are in line with those of a recent survey measuring a low-medium adherence to the MedDiet in a sample of Italian adults [80]. Thus, it seems that the condition of FM patients does not modify the frequency of adhesion to MedDiet recorded in the whole population.…”

Dietary Intake among Lebanese Adults: Findings from the Updated LEBANese natiONal Food Consumption Survey (LEBANON-FCS)

“…Our findings aligned with the results of a previous national study, which showed that Lebanese adults have low adherence to the Mediterranean diet [ 27 ]. Similarly in Italy [ 28 ], a study showed that Italian adult participants had a medium adherence to the Mediterranean diet, highlighting the need for public health policies to improve dietary habits. As for the EAT-Lancet diet, our findings align with a study conducted in Brazil [ 29 ] involving adults aged 20 years and above that showed a low adherence to the recommendations of this diet.…”