Diet and survival of elderly Greeks: a link to the past

Abstract

In 1988 and 1989, we investigated in three Greek villages the dietary patterns of 182 men and women aged > 70 y by using a validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire and compared these dietary patterns with the traditional Greek diet as ascertained in the late 1950s by Keys and his colleagues. As in the traditional diet, olive oil dominated fat intake, total fat exceeded 35% of total energy intake, average daily consumption of fruits and vegetables exceeded 500 g, and average ethanol intake for men corresponded to two to three glasses of wine per day. In contrast, consumption of meat and meat products has substantially increased and intake of bread and other cereals has apparently declined. We observed no differences between the two periods with respect to consumption of legumes, eggs and egg products, and sugar confectionery. We have also attempted to assess whether a gradient of adherence to the traditional Greek diet can be identified in the diets of the study subjects, and whether it can subsequently predict total mortality. During a follow-up period of approximately 5 y, 53 deaths were observed. The risk of death was apparently higher among the minority of study subjects whose diet deviated substantially from the traditional Greek pattern, compared with the majority whose diet adhered closely to the traditional pattern.

Tracing the Mediterranean diet through principal components and cluster analyses in the Greek population

“…We have identified four major PCs in the Greek population, one of them approximating the traditional Mediterranean diet (Trichopoulou et al, 1995a), another denoting a vegetarian diet, with emphasis on vegetable seed oils rather than olive oil, a third reflecting a preference for sweets (Schulze et al, 2001), and a fourth reflecting a Western-type diet (Slattery et al, 1998;Hu et al, 2000;Fung et al, 2001a, b;Osler et al, 2001;Terry et al, 2001). The Mediterranean PC was positively associated with female gender, age, educational level, physical activity, and nonsmoking status, indicating that this diet represents the choice of the educated and health conscious people.…”

The impact on eating habits of temporary translocation from a Mediterranean to a Northern European environment

“…This has resulted in a higher contribution of saturated fat to energy intake, especially in the younger age groups (Moschandreas & Kafatos, 1999). Despite having undergone these changes, the Greek diet is still recognised as being one of the healthiest in Europe and continues to be associated with some of the lowest rates of coronary heart disease and some cancers (Kafatos et al, 1991;Trichopoulou et al, 1995).…”

“…Its health-promoting benefits are demonstrated by the lower rates of circulatory disease and diet-related cancers in Greece when compared with other European countries (Kafatos et al, 1991;Trichopoulou et al, 1995). In contrast, the Scottish diet is characterised by low average intake of fruit and vegetables and a high percentage of energy from fat, particularly the saturated kind, and is associated with some of the highest rates of circulatory disease and diet-related cancers in Western Europe (The Scottish Office, 1993).…”

Wine polyphenols and promotion of cardiac health

“…(Goldberg et al 1995a) Wine has been a part of human culture for 6000 years, with the first documented vineyard being planted by Noah after the Great Flood (Jackson, 1994;Soleas et al 1997a). Since that time, wine consumption has been recorded in various countries as a part of their rich culture and diet with the Mediterranean areas appearing to enjoy better health as a consequence of their indulgence (Kushi et al 1995;Trichopoulou et al 1995;Willett et al 1995). The Mediterranean diet is characterised by high intakes of fruit, fish, cooked vegetables, salad, wines and the use of olive oil (Tjønneland et al 1999) and has long been considered one of the healthier European diets (Nestle, 1995;Trichopoulou et al 1995).…”

“…Since that time, wine consumption has been recorded in various countries as a part of their rich culture and diet with the Mediterranean areas appearing to enjoy better health as a consequence of their indulgence (Kushi et al 1995;Trichopoulou et al 1995;Willett et al 1995). The Mediterranean diet is characterised by high intakes of fruit, fish, cooked vegetables, salad, wines and the use of olive oil (Tjønneland et al 1999) and has long been considered one of the healthier European diets (Nestle, 1995;Trichopoulou et al 1995). In 1997, Luxembourg was recorded as having the highest annual wine consumption per capita in the world at 63·3 litres (The Wine Institute, 1999) (Table 1).…”