Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet: Myth or Reality?

“However,
the type of traditional Mediterranean diet that is associated with
multiple health benefits is dramatically different from the contemporary diet
of those living in the Mediterranean regions” Prof. Kafatos stressed. In Crete, the largest island of Greece with more than 500 000
inhabitants, one third of the children and more than half of the adults are
overweight or obese, according to him. “In the 1960s middle aged farmers in Crete had a mean body weight of 63 kilogram; today
it is 80 kilograms. Our studies indicate that as a result of overweight and
obesity, almost five per cent of the children in Crete
and 18 to 44 per cent of middle aged adults have the cluster of symptoms which
together with insulin resistance are known as the Metabolic Syndrome”.

“The reason for this development is the dramatic change in
the Cretan diet, particularly the increase in meats and animal products
consumed. This has meant an increase in saturated fatty acid intake from eight
per cent of total energy intake in the sixties to 15 - 16 per cent in
adolescents today”, Prof. Kafatos explained. “At the same time, the intake of monounsaturated fat intake,
mostly derived from olive oil, has been decreasing”. His conclusion: “The
health benefits of the traditional Mediterranean
diet are real and verifiable, but mythical if applied to the current dietary
patterns in the Mediterranean region.”