Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern among university students

Abstract

Background: The Mediterranean dietary pattern is one of the healthiest dietary patterns with a protective effect against the risk of several health outcomes. Despite Malta’s central location in the Mediterranean Sea, the Maltese dietary habits may have become more Westernized. The aim of this study is to assess adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern in students at the University of Malta.

Methodology: A one-time structured interview was conducted on University students who were conveniently recruited outside the University premises. The interview addressed lifestyle information, and questions intended to assess participants’ adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern using a literature-based adherence score. A photographic food atlas was used as a tool to aid the quantification of food portion sizes. An 18-component score indicating adherence to the Mediterranean diet was generated for each participant; the score ranges from 0 for minimal adherence to 18 for maximal adherence. Results were analysed using SPSS version 23.

Results: A total of 50 students were interviewed. The majority of participants were females, Maltese, aged between 18-20 years old and within the normal BMI range. Students were unlikely to consume alcohol or smoke. The majority had a low to moderate intake of fruits, vegetables and legumes, low intake of fish and high intake of meat. The average overall adherence score to the Mediterranean dietary pattern was 8.8. Thus, 72% of the students were classified as medium adherers while 20% and 8% were classified as low and high adherers respectively. No significant associations were found between the overall adherence and all study parameters.

Conclusion: This cross-sectional pilot study was the first to investigate the adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern in a sample of the Maltese population and established University students taking part in this study as medium adherers. This study was useful in determining the feasibility of such a study and in piloting the measurement tool; a larger sample size is required to highlight associations between adherence levels and lifestyle factors.