[Do we really follow the Mediterranean diet?]. / Seguimos realmente una dieta mediterránea?

OBJECTIVE: To discover people's nutritional habits and their distance from the Mediterranean diet. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, descriptive study. SETTING: Gavà 2 Health District, Barcelona, Spain. PARTICIPANTS: 614 obtained at random from patients attending the centre. Stratified in 3 age groups (15-35, 36-64, and over 64). MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Validated questionnaire of the consumption by groups of food over the previous week. Then figures were compared with the standard values of the Mediterranean diet. RESULTS: Outstanding results were: 60% insufficiency in consumption of carbohydrates; 70.7% insufficiency in green vegetables, fruit and root vegetables; 75% of optimum consumption of pulses; 64% deficient consumption of milk products; 66% optimum consumption of fish; 73.8% optimum consumption of eggs; 71.2% proper intake of white meat; 64.2% excessive consumption of red meat and processed meats, which reached 86.6% among 15-35 year olds. There was a BMI over 25 in 59% of women and 63% of men, with obesity being most common among women and people over 64 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The population studied consumed an excessive amount of food with high contents of saturated fat, especially young people. There is a deficit in the intake of slowly absorbed carbohydrates and a less than ideal consumption of fruit, green vegetables and root vegetables, which was more marked among the young. The consumption of milk products was below the recommended amount. Pulses, fish and white meat were close to the right levels. This pattern is far from ideal and leads to higher risk of prevalent chronic illnesses.

¿Seguimos realmente una dieta mediterránea? / Do we really follow the mediterranean diet?

Objetivo. Conocer los hábitos alimentarios y su distanciamiento de la dieta mediterránea. Diseño. Estudio descriptivo, transversal. Emplazamiento. ABS Gavà 2. Barcelona. Participantes. Se incluyó a 614 pacientes obtenidos aleatoriamente de los pacientes que acudían al centro. La población fue estratificada en 3 franjas de edad (15-35, 36-64 y > 64 años). Mediciones principales. Cuestionario validado del consumo por grupos de alimentos en la última semana. Posteriormente se comparó con los valores estándar de dieta mediterránea. Resultados. Se observa un 60% de consumo insuficiente de hidratos de carbono, un 70,7% de consumo insuficiente de verduras, frutas y hortalizas, un 75% de consumo óptimo de legumbres, un 64% de consumo deficiente de lácteos, un 66% de consumo óptimo de pescado, un 73,8% de consumo óptimo de huevos, un 71,2% de consumo adecuado de carne blanca, y un 64,2% de consumo excesivo de carne roja y embutidos, que llega a ser del 86,6% a los 15-35 años. Se observó un IMC > 25 en el 59% de las mujeres y el 63% de los valores; la obesidad fue más frecuente en mujeres y en > 64 años. Conclusiones. La población estudiada consume un exceso de alimentos con alto contenido en grasas saturadas, especialmente los jóvenes. Hay un déficit en la ingesta de hidratos de carbono de absorción lenta y un consumo inferior al ideal de frutas, verduras y hortalizas, más acusado también en jóvenes. El consumo de lácteos es inferior al aconsejado. La ingesta de legumbres, pescado y carne blanca se aproxima a los niveles correctos. Este patrón difiere del ideal, lo que supone un mayor riesgo de enfermedades crónicas prevalentes

Setting. Gavà 2 Health District, Barcelona, Spain. Participants. 614 obtained at random from patients attending the centre. Stratified in 3 age groups (15-35, 36-64, and over 64). Main measurements. Validated questionnaire of the consumption by groups of food over the previous week. Then figures were compared with the standard values of the Mediterranean diet. Results. Outstanding results were: 60% insufficiency in consumption of carbohydrates; 70.7% insufficiency in green vegetables, fruit and root vegetables; 75% of optimum consumption of pulses; 64% deficient consumption of milk products; 66% optimum consumption of fish; 73.8% optimum consumption of eggs; 71.2% proper intake of white meat; 64.2% excessive consumption of red meat and processed meats, which reached 86.6% among 15-35 year olds. There was a BMI over 25 in 59% of women and 63% of men, with obesity being most common among women and people over 64 years old. Conclusions. The population studied consumed an excessive amount of food with high contents of saturated fat, especially young people. There is a deficit in the intake of slowly absorbed carbohydrates and a less than ideal consumption of fruit, green vegetables and root vegetables, which was more marked among the young. The consumption of milk products was below the recommended amount. Pulses, fish and white meat were close to the right levels. This pattern is far from ideal and leads to higher risk of prevalent chronic illnesses