Pavlidou Eleni, Papadopoulou Sousana K, Alexatou Olga, Voulgaridou Gavriela, Mentzelou Maria, Biskanaki Fani, Psara Evmorfia, Tsourouflis Gerasimos, Lefantzis Nikos, Dimoliani Sophia, Apostolou Thomas, Sampani Anastasia, Chatziprodromidou Ioanna P, Angelakou Exakousti-Petroula, Giaginis Constantinos
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Myrina, Greece.
Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Epidemiologia (Basel). 2023 Dec 23;5(1):11-28. doi: 10.3390/epidemiologia5010002.
The Mediterranean diet (MD) has been related with a decreased probability of overweight/obesity as well as central obesity at all stages of the human life, decreasing the risk of diverse disease states and improving quality of life. Over the last few years, the prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity and especially abdominal obesity has highly increased worldwide, being associated with a higher likelihood of overweight/obesity as well as central obesity at the next stages of the life during adulthood. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship of MD compliance with sociodemographic, anthropometry and lifestyle features in pre-school children aged 2-5 years old.
This is a cross-sectional study, which includes 5188 pre-school children from diverse regions of Greece. Relevant questionnaires were applied to evaluate the sociodemographic features of the enrolled children. Anthropometric parameters were measured by relevant techniques. Qualified questionnaires were utilized for assessing several lifestyle factors such as physical activity, quality of life, breastfeeding practices, MD adherence, as well as the prevalence of childhood asthma and diabetes mellitus type I.
Of the enrolled children, 41.7% showed low MD compliance and 36.4% of them indicated moderated compliance, while only 21.9% of them showed a high MD adherence. Overweight/obesity was noted in 24.2% of the assigned children, while abdominal obesity was noticed in 18.2% of them. Higher MD compliance was related with an elevated prevalence of sex (boys, = 0.0005), Greek nationality ( = 0.0088), rural type of residence ( = 0.0099), childhood overweight/obesity ( < 0.0001) and abdominal obesity ( < 0.0001), lower childbirth weight ( < 0.0001), increased physical activity ( = 0.0041), improved quality of life ( = 0.0008), exclusive breastfeeding ( < 0.0001), childhood asthma ( = 0.0001) and diabetes mellitus type 1 ( = 0.0002).
A higher MD adherence is associated with specific sociodemographic, better anthropometric, and beneficial lifestyle factors in pre-school children. However, MD compliance remains low or moderate in the vast majority of children aged 2-5 years old. Thus, future public strategies and policies should be performed to inform parents of the potential beneficial effects of MD against obesity and related chronic diseases at the next stage of their children's lives.
地中海饮食（MD）与人类生命各阶段超重/肥胖以及中心性肥胖的发生率降低有关，可降低多种疾病状态的风险并改善生活质量。在过去几年中，全球儿童超重/肥胖尤其是腹型肥胖的患病率大幅上升，这与成年后下一阶段超重/肥胖以及中心性肥胖的可能性增加有关。本研究的目的是探讨2至5岁学龄前儿童地中海饮食依从性与社会人口统计学、人体测量学和生活方式特征之间的关系。
这是一项横断面研究，纳入了来自希腊不同地区的5188名学龄前儿童。应用相关问卷评估所纳入儿童的社会人口统计学特征。通过相关技术测量人体测量参数。使用合格问卷评估身体活动、生活质量、母乳喂养方式、地中海饮食依从性以及儿童哮喘和1型糖尿病患病率等多种生活方式因素。
在所纳入的儿童中，41.7%的儿童地中海饮食依从性低，其中36.4%表示依从性中等，而只有21.9%的儿童表现出高度的地中海饮食依从性。在指定儿童中，24.2%存在超重/肥胖，18.2%存在腹型肥胖。较高的地中海饮食依从性与性别（男孩，P = 0.0005）、希腊国籍（P = 0.0088）、农村居住类型（P = 0.0099）、儿童超重/肥胖（P < 0.0001）和腹型肥胖（P < 0.0001）的患病率升高、较低的出生体重（P < 0.0001）、增加的身体活动（P = 0.0041）、改善的生活质量（P = 0.0008）、纯母乳喂养（P < 0.0001）、儿童哮喘（P = 0.0001）和1型糖尿病（P = 0.0002）有关。
较高的地中海饮食依从性与学龄前儿童特定的社会人口统计学、更好的人体测量学和有益的生活方式因素相关。然而，在绝大多数2至5岁的儿童中，地中海饮食依从性仍然较低或中等。因此，未来应实施公共战略和政策，告知家长地中海饮食对其子女下一阶段生活中肥胖及相关慢性病的潜在有益影响。
