[Food model in western Andalusia]

As is known, the type and amount of food consumption determine the nutritional composition of the diet. A healthy nutritional composition plays an essential role in the prevention of diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes mellitus type 2 and obesity. Regarding overweight and obesity, its prevalence has increased in recent years in our country and more markedly in Andalusia, reaching quite worrying figures, due to unfavorable changes in lifestyle and nutrition. In Andalusia, food consumption figures are lower than national ones and this contrasts with the higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in this Community. In addition, the sale of soft drinks in Andalusia are higher than the national average and sedentary lifestyle is higher. Among the strengths of the food model in western Andalusia, it is worth mentioning the follow-up of a model more adjusted to the Mediterranean diet by women and the elderly. There is a tendency to abandon the Mediterranean diet among the youngest and low socio-economic levels. On the nutritional profile, the lipids (39.1%) exceed the recommendations at the expense of carbohydrates, the consumption of saturated fatty acids (11.3%) exceeds the recommendations and the intakes of zinc and folic acid do not reach the values recommended. In general terms, there is an abandonment, fundamentally on the part of the youngest people of the typical foods of the Mediterranean diet.