Diet of two rural population groups of middle-aged men in Italy

In 1965 a dietary survey with use of the dietary history method was carried out among 1536 middle-aged men from two rural areas of Italy, Crevalcore in the North and Montegiorgio in the Center, in connection with the Seven Countries Study on the epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases. In general the diet, while rather heterogeneous across individuals, was typically Mediterranean, that is rich in cereals, vegetables, fruits and vegetable oils, particularly olive oil and moderate in animal products. Intake of alcoholic beverages, mostly wine, was rather high. There were some differences between the two areas in consumption of some food-items such as milk, meat, fruits, sugar and cakes, pies and cookies. The dietary history method, as used here, was validated concurrently on a subsample by the 3-day weighing method and chemical analyses of 3-day food composites, with satisfactory results.