Mediterranean diet adherence and body composition among Southern Italian adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: Adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet has been associated with health benefits in young populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cardio-metabolic parameters in adolescents living in Sicily, Southern Italy.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted during two school years (2012-2013 and 2013-2014) on 1643 adolescents of 11-16 years attending 15 secondary schools. Socio-demographic, dietary, lifestyle, and anthropometric data were collected. The KIDMED score was used to evaluate the adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Linear and logistic regression models were used to test the association between the variable of interest and the outcomes.

RESULTS: A higher percentage of boys compared with girls was overweight (30.8% vs. 25.4%) and obese (28.7% vs. 18.5%) and only 9.1% had high adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Vegetable intake was negatively associated with being overweight/obese whereas higher intake of sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fast foods was associated with overweight and obesity. A good adherence to the Mediterranean diet resulted in 30% decreased odds of being overweight or obese (odd ratio 0.70, 95% confidence interval: 0.56-0.87) in both boys and girls. An inverse correlation was found between KIDMED score and BMI, waist circumference and fat mass. No relation with blood pressure was found.

CONCLUSIONS: Mediterranean dietary pattern resulted significantly associated with weight status in adolescents. These results underline the importance of providing lifestyle and dietary habits education to prevent overweight and obesity in adolescent.