Quality of Mediterranean diet

Journal of Food and Clinical Nutrition is an international peer reviewed journal that publishes recent research developments made in the field of food science and nutrition biology. The journal provides an open access platform for the dissemination of the latest developments in the field of food and nutrition.

The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) includes high amount and frequency consumption of vegetables, fruits, cereals (preferably as whole grain), legumes, nuts and olive oil; moderate consumption of fish and shellfish, white meat, eggs and dairy products; small quantity and frequency consumption of red meat, processed meats, and foods rich in sugars and in fats; and a regular but moderate intake of wine, generally during meals. However, epidemiological evidences suggest that dietary patterns in the Mediterranean countries are changing rapidly, with an increased consumption of animal products and saturated fat and a decline of intake of basic foodstuffs based on vegetables.

The MedDiet has been quantified in diet indices that attempt to make a global evaluation of the quality of the diet based on a traditional MedDiet reference pattern. Diet indexes are known as ‘a priori’, as they are built based on dietary guidelines or recommendations, and ‘a posteriori’, as they consists in defining food patterns once the dietary data are collected and using specific statistical analysis 

Physical activity was evaluated according to the guidelines for data processing and analysis of the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) in the short form, and its specific modification for adolescents (IPAQ-A). The specific types of activity assessed were walking, and moderate (i.e. physical activity at school), and vigorous (i.e. sport practice) activity. According to the AVENA (Alimentación y Valoración del Estado Nutricional en Adolescentes: Food and Assessment of Nutritional Status of Adolescents) study, the questionnaire also included information on television (TV) viewing, computer use and video games to the nearest 10 min. Sedentary behaviour was established with a cut-off level of 300 min of moderate/vigorous physical activity per week.

The assessed Mediterranean adolescents showed a poor-quality diet. While parental educational level and physical activity level were directly associated with diet quality, age and media screen time were inversely associated with diet quality. Body image is also a powerful determinant of adolescent diet quality. Adolescents constitute priority targets for action and should be more aware about the diet quality and its health benefits. Programs to promote the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern among adolescents and their relatives, combined with active lifestyle, would likely result in a more favorable future health profile.

Contributors are welcome to publish high quality clinical, and laboratory research as case series, reviews, guidelines, techniques and practices.

Interested persons can submit their respective manuscripts through Online Manuscript Submission System (or) email foodclinnutri@eclinjournals.com

Contact Details

Aaron Province

Managing Editor

Journal of Food and Clinical Nutrition