Children’s diet assessed with the Mediterranean Diet Index: the finding of new eating habits and their impact on a cohort of Italian children

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Abstract

Objectives. Mediterranean Diet (MD) has been inversely associated with many diseases: it reduces total mortality and lowers cardiovascular risk. Despite the known benefits of MD, variations of dietary habits have occurred in recent years especially in young people. The aim of our study is to evaluate MD adherence in a cohort of Italian children and adolescents living in Southern Italy.
Methods and results. Adherence to MD was evaluated with the Mediterranean Diet Index (KIDMED). Sex, age, and anthropometric measures were recorded on a population of 132 children; of those 71.2% showed poor adherence to MD, 26.5% average adherence and only 2.3% good adherence. Higher prevalence of poor adherence was recorded in obese children and there was statistically significant inverse correlation between age and adherence score.
Conclusions. Our results highlight low adherence to MD in a cohort of Italian children. These findings support the importance of monitoring dietary habits, especially in adolescents.

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Authors

Irene Rutigliano - Unità Operativa Complessa di Pediatria, Fondazione IRCCS “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza”, San Giovanni Rotondo (FG), Italy

Morena Luce Mansueto - Scuola di specializzazione in Pediatria, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7346-0057

Rossella Canestrale

Rossella Giorgio

Michele Sacco

Maria Rosa Pastore

How to Cite
Rutigliano, I., Mansueto, M. L., Canestrale, R., Giorgio, R., Sacco, M., & Pastore, M. R. (2024). Children’s diet assessed with the Mediterranean Diet Index: the finding of new eating habits and their impact on a cohort of Italian children. Annali dell’Istituto Superiore Di Sanità, 60(3), 179–183. https://doi.org/10.4415/ANN_24_03_02
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