Work

Global changes in Mediterranean Diet Score: A Comparative study over 52 years using an international database

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Background: The relationship between diet and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been recognized; however, it is unclear how diets eaten around the world are changing.In this study, we focused on the Mediterranean diet and examined change in the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) worldwide between 1961 and 2013, using data from the FAOSTAT database.Methods: Individual countries were scored 0-9 to indicate their adherence to the Mediterranean diet.Food items recommended for consumption were given a score of 1 for above median and 0 for below, whereas detrimental food items were given the opposite scoring.The median standard used for alcohol intake was 50 g of ethanol.Depending on MDS score, countries were classified into two to six groups using the latent class mixed model with random effects of fiscal year.Selection of the optimal number of classes was based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) fit indices and on the average posterior probabilities of the participants assigned to each class.Changes in score between 1961 and 2013 in the 170 countries for which all data were available are presented as spline curves.Results: The results of the optimal model, which comprises four classes as determined by the AIC, showed a decline of MDS in countries that had the highest scores in 1961, which included those in Mediterranean regions.Countries with the lowest scores in 1961, which included landlocked countries and the Nordics, showed a significant increase in score.MDS scores did not change drastically in Japan or in many other developed countries.Globally, the difference in MDS showed a narrowing trend.Analysis by food group revealed that in Mediterranean countries, increases in meat and milk supply had led to a decrease in score.In Nordic and landlocked countries, meat and milk supply remained high, but more abundant vegetable and fish supply had led to an increase in score.Conclusions: This study reveals 52-year changes in MDS globally and in the supply of food groups within the MDS, grouped by latent class.The relationship between change in MDS and NCDs requires further analysis.

Source: Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB)

DOI: 10.15073/0002000298