Are children from Crete abandoning a Mediterranean diet?

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Pediatric Health
• Cross-Cultural Studies

Background:

• Mediterranean countries, including Greece, are undergoing rapid social changes impacting traditional dietary patterns.
• There is a noted tendency to abandon the healthy Mediterranean diet due to these societal shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the nutritional habits of children in rural Greece and Sweden.
• To investigate potential shifts away from the traditional Mediterranean diet in Greek children.
• To explore if Swedish children are adopting elements of the Mediterranean diet.

Main Methods:

• A validated nutrition questionnaire, the KidMed, was administered to parents.
• Interviews were conducted with parents of children from one rural Greek village (Crete) and one rural Swedish village.
• Data were adjusted for gender and age in the analysis.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in overall KidMed scores were found between Cretan and Swedish children.
• Cretan children's diets included higher reported daily use of olive oil and nuts, but also more commercially baked goods for breakfast.
• Swedish children's diets showed a higher reported intake of cereals, grains, or bread for breakfast.
• Mean Body Mass Index (BMI) values were similar in both groups.

Conclusions:

• Nutritional habits are changing measurably among young children in rural settings.
• The findings suggest a potential partial abandonment of the traditional Mediterranean diet by Cretan children.
• Swedish children may be adopting aspects of a more Mediterranean food pattern.
• Small sample size necessitates further, larger-scale research.