Adherence to the Mediterranean diet among Italian adults: results from the web-based Medi-Lite questionnaire

Abstract

The adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) was assessed in a sample of 1820 non-selected individuals (1099 females and 721 males aged ≥18 years) who have completed the web version of the Medi-Lite score during the year 2019. Adherence to the MD was found to have a normal distribution and, on a scale from 0 to 18, the mean score was 12.2 ± 2.4. Significantly (p < 0.001) higher adherence scores were observed in females compared to males, in elderly people compared to young people, and in individuals with a university degree compared to those with a primary or a secondary school diploma. At the multivariate analysis, female gender, advanced age (>45 years), and higher education level were associated with a higher probability of being in the highest quartile of the Medi-Lite distribution. In conclusion, we found that some sub-groups of our population (males, younger individuals, and those with lower levels of education) need to improve their diet for reaching higher adherence scores to the MD.

Keywords:

• Mediterranean diet
• adherence
• Medi-Lite
• score

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Conception and design: LT, FS; Analysis and interpretation of the data: MD, LT, GG, FS; Drafting of the article: MD, GP, IG, FS; Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: GP, IG, BC, GG; Final approval of the article: BC, FS; Statistical expertise: MD.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.