The Mediterranean diet.

Abstract

This study, The Mediterranean Diet, was carried out to investigate awareness of the Mediterranean diet, its benefits and the possible barriers to meal planning and preparation. The study was carried out on Maltese women, through the use of two questionnaires, a Subject Information Questionnaire (see Appendix B) and a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), (see Appendix B) Various information was gathered from the questionnaires, including the barriers and factors affecting meal preparation; the accessibility of certain foods, the knowledge about the various constituents of the Mediterranean diet and the subject characteristics (see Appendix C), amongst others. The conclusions are that: Revival of the Mediterranean diet is necessary; more general knowledge is needed about a balanced healthy diet, possibly through health promotion or schools and the notions about some nutrients are false Keywords: Mediterranean diet, Maltese women, accessibility, barriers