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Mediterranean Style Diets throughout Life: Clinical Benefits Extending beyond Weight Loss

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (21 March 2023) | Viewed by 12232

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Dr. Anat Yaskolka Meir

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Guest Editor

Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Interests: epidemiology; genetics; epigenetics; inflammation; dietary interventions; clinical nutrition; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; obesity; aging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Gal Tsaban

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

1. Division of Cardiology, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer-Sheva 84101, Israel
2. The Health & Nutrition Innovative International Research Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84015, Israel
Interests: cardiovascular diseases; vascular stiffness; atrial fibrillation; metabolic syndrome; adiposity; lifestyle interventions; obesity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Childhood and adulthood obesity share several complications, such as elevated blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and asthma. However, obesity among children may also lead to alterations in sexual development and earlier metabolic disease development, with more prolonged exposure and a higher risk for significant complications. Beyond the physiological effect, obesity also affects psychological health, along with distinct challenges and hurdles throughout life. Due to these early- and late-life implications of obesity, there is a great need to initiate effective treatments at younger ages to prevent to development of obesity and its related morbidities in adulthood.

Lifestyle interventions are the cornerstone of early intervention to treat obesity and its metabolic-related sequela. Maintaining a healthy diet has repeatedly been shown to promote weight maintenance and loss. Mediterranean-style diets have emerged as an outstanding dietary pattern to promote metabolic health and treat and prevent obesity throughout life.

This Special Issue aims to provide an update on the different aspects of the Mediterranean diet, its modifications, its health benefits, and current and future prevention strategies and treatments of obesity, adiposity, and their metabolic consequences from childhood to adulthood.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. We welcome different types of manuscript submissions, including original research articles and up-to-date reviews (systematic reviews and meta-analyses).

Dr. Anat Yaskolka Meir
Dr. Gal Tsaban
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

lifestyle interventions
precision Nutrition
non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
diabetes Mellitus
insulin resistance
metabolic Syndrome
cardiovascular disease
obesity
childhood obesity

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 605 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet: A Population-Based Longitudinal Cohort Study

by Elisa Mattavelli, Elena Olmastroni, Manuela Casula, Liliana Grigore, Fabio Pellegatta, Andrea Baragetti, Paolo Magni and Alberico L. Catapano

Nutrients 2023, 15(8), 1844; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15081844 - 12 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1982

Abstract

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is recommended for cardiovascular disease prevention. However, recent epidemiological studies report a shift toward lower adherence to MedDiet. We have conducted a prospective cohort study to evaluate changes in individual determinants of MedDiet adherence over time. Clinical information and MedDiet adherence score (MEDAS) were collected in 711 subjects (mean age 68 ± 10 years; 42% males), enrolled in the PLIC study (Progression of Intimal Atherosclerotic Lesions in Carotid arteries), during two visits conducted, on average, 4.5 years apart. MEDAS score worsening and improvements (absolute change, ΔMEDAS) and the variation in the proportion of subjects reporting to meet each MEDAS criteria were assessed. Overall, 34% of the subjects improved their MedDiet adherence (ΔMEDAS: +1.87 ± 1.13), by consuming more olive oil, legumes and fish and use of dishes seasoned with sofrito and 48% subjects worsened their MedDiet adherence (ΔMEDAS: −2.02 ± 1.14) by consuming less fruit, legumes, fish and nuts, with higher rates of worsening in women and subjects aged 50–65 years. Subjects who improved the score were more obese, had higher plasma glucose levels, and metabolic syndrome at the basal visit. In summary, we report an overall decrease in MedDiet adherence, evaluated during a timeframe heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, underlining the need for better dietary interventions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Style Diets throughout Life: Clinical Benefits Extending beyond Weight Loss)

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17 pages, 306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

by Dimitrios V. Diamantis, Konstantinos Katsas, Dimitrios Kalogiannis, Matina Kouvari and Athena Linos

Nutrients 2023, 15(8), 1829; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15081829 - 10 Apr 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1903

Abstract

Children’s dietary habits can have a key role in contributing to an improvement in their Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). This study aims to assess the connection between Mediterranean diet adherence and HRQoL in a sample of Greek students, utilizing data from the DIATROFI program. The parents of 3774 students (mean age 7.8 (2.6) years) reported their children’s HRQoL and level of adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern at the beginning and end of the 2021–2022 school year. At baseline, most students’ adherence was characterized as moderate (55.2%) or high (25.1%). Students with moderate or high adherence tο the Mediterranean diet were less likely to report a total HRQoL below the median at baseline (OR = 0.56, 95%CI = 0.44, 0.70), along with all its dimensions (physical, emotional, social, and school functions). A one-unit improvement in KIDMED score _{(beginning–end of schoolyear)} was associated with the likelihood of an improvement in total HRQoL _{(beginning–end of schoolyear)} (OR = 1.09, 95%CI = 1.02, 1.17), emotional (OR = 1.09, 95%CI = 1.02, 1.17), and social functions (OR = 1.13, 95%CI = 1.05, 1.22), but not with physical and school functions. The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet in children may not be limited to disease prevention but also extend to their overall wellbeing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Style Diets throughout Life: Clinical Benefits Extending beyond Weight Loss)

12 pages, 535 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mediterranean Dietary Patterns Related to Sleep Duration and Sleep-Related Problems among Adolescents: The EHDLA Study

by José Francisco López-Gil, Lee Smith, Desirée Victoria-Montesinos, Héctor Gutiérrez-Espinoza, Pedro J. Tárraga-López and Arthur Eumann Mesas

Nutrients 2023, 15(3), 665; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030665 - 28 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4969

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to examine the association of adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and its specific components with both sleep duration and sleep-related disorders in a sample of adolescents from the Valle de Ricote (Region of Murcia, Spain). Methods: This cross-sectional study included a sample of 847 Spanish adolescents (55.3% girls) aged 12–17 years. Adherence to the MD was assessed by the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Children and Teenagers. Sleep duration was reported by adolescents for weekdays and weekend days separately. The BEARS (Bedtime problems, Excessive daytime sleepiness, Awakenings during the night, Regularity and duration of sleep, and Sleep-disordered breathing) screening was used to evaluate issues related to sleep, which include difficulties at bedtime, excessive drowsiness during the day, waking up frequently during the night, irregularity, length of sleep, and breathing issues while sleeping. Results: Adolescents who presented a high adherence to the MD were more likely to meet the sleep recommendations (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.12–2.06, p = 0.008) and less likely to report at least one sleep-related problem (OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.43–0.72, p < 0.001). These findings remained significant after adjusting for sex, age, socioeconomic status, waist circumference, energy intake, physical activity, and sedentary behavior, indicating a significant association of adherence to the MD with sleep outcomes (meeting sleep recommendations: OR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.00–1.96, p = 0.050; sleep-related problems: OR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.50–0.92, p = 0.012). Conclusions: Adolescents with high adherence to the MD were more likely to report optimal sleep duration and fewer sleep-related problems. This association was more clearly observed for specific MD components, such as fruits, pulses, fish, having breakfast, dairies, sweets, and baked goods/pastries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Style Diets throughout Life: Clinical Benefits Extending beyond Weight Loss)

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15 pages, 840 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Influence of the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern on Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia

by María Carmen Andreo-López, Victoria Contreras-Bolívar, Beatriz García-Fontana, Cristina García-Fontana and Manuel Muñoz-Torres

Nutrients 2023, 15(14), 3224; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15143224 - 20 Jul 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2916

Abstract

Diet is a modifiable factor in bone and muscle health. The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is rich in nutrients and contains key bioactive components with probable protective effects on muscle and bone deterioration. Osteoporosis (OP) and sarcopenia are diseases that increase frailty and susceptibility to fracture, morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is necessary to combat them in the population. In this regard, MedDiet adherence has proven to be beneficial to bone mineral density (BMD), muscle mass, physical function, OP and sarcopenia. Hence, this diet is proposed as a therapeutic tool that could slow the onset of osteoporosis and sarcopenia. However, there is doubt about the interaction between the MedDiet, strength and fracture risk. Perhaps the amount of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), fruits, vegetables and fish rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrients ingested has an influence, though the results remain controversial. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Style Diets throughout Life: Clinical Benefits Extending beyond Weight Loss)

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Mediterranean Style Diets throughout Life: Clinical Benefits Extending beyond Weight Loss

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