Comparison of lifestyles among mediterranean populationseastern vs western

Resum

Introduction: The Mediterranean diet was proved to be beneficial in the prevention and prognosis of chronic diseases. Older adults are the age group with the highest incidence of chronic disease. The study was conducted in Spain and Lebanon. Research content: In Mallorca, the nutritional content of the food consumed by 211 older adults was researched using two non-consecutive recall diets. The mean daily intake of polyphenols was 332.7 mg/d. Polyphenol intake was highest among alcohol drinkers, high educational level, high income, and physically active people. Flavonoids were the highest ingested polyphenols. Alcoholic beverages were the major contributors to the total polyphenol intake, mainly red wine. Mean daily intake of lipids was 68.6 g/day. Sex, age and educational level influenced fat intake. MUFA was the highest ingested fatty acid, and “oils & seeds” was the food group with highest contribution to lipid intake; both were in accordance with the Mediterranean diet pattern. However, the fatty acid intake did not abide by the recommendations in Mediterranean older adults. Calcium, copper, magnesium and iron were consumed in quantities lower than DRI. Female sex and an income ≥900euros were associated respectively with an increased and decreased probability of compliance with the DRI on a 5points scale. The intake of minerals should be adjusted to abide by the recommendations. Along with the nutritional content of food, the correlation between age, body composition and biomarker variables on one hand and the physical fitness variables on the other hand were researched. Many physical fitness measurement variables correlated negatively with predictors of cardiovascular disease. Physical fitness might be essential in healthy aging. Overall, 36.8%, 24.5% and 0.3% of participants had low maximum 8-f TUG score, low maximum HGS and sarcopenia, respectively. Prevalence of these low values varies according to sociodemographic and body composition variables. In Lebanon, adherence to Mediterranean diet was assessed in 525 university students and 125 older adults using MEDAS. Among university students, the mean Mediterranean score estimated was 7.96. Men had a slightly higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet than women. Nonsmokers had higher score than those who smoke. 59.05% of the sample had a score lower than adequate adherence but this did not affect their will to participate in research to ameliorate their health. 0.7% of the willingness to change diet depended on the score of adherence to Mediterranean diet and 28.58% of the participants were primarily worried about their health. Stratification of the questionnaire revealed a relatively high spread of olive oil usage in cooking (86.3%) although only 50.3% consume more than 4 teaspoons per day. The percentage of participants consuming food according to the Mediterranean diet standards was higher than 50% except for wine and fish. Positive correlations were found between the different components of MEDAS, in addition the percentage of participants who had an adequate score was higher in non-smokers. Among older adults, mean Mediterranean score estimated was 8.48. Men had a slightly higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet than women. Those who work had a higher adherence to Mediterranean diet than those who don’t. 52% of the sample had a higher score than adequate adherence and the highest percentage of participants who had adequate score were primarily worried about their health and were willing to engage in physical activity, diet and research for a better health. The percentage of participants consuming food according to the Mediterranean diet standards was higher than 50% except for wine and fish. Conclusion: More studies must be conducted to compare between Lebanon and Spain and develop strategies to increase adherence to Mediterranean diet in Lebanon for a better health.