Abstract
Objective
The aim of the present study was to determine the nutritional behaviour of an elderly urban population in Southern Spain, estimating their degree of adherence to the Mediterranean.
Diet Design
A population-based cross-sectional nutritional survey, recruiting a representative sample of elderly inhabitants. The study sample comprised 260 people. The mean age was 73.60 yrs for the men and 72.25 yrs for the women. Around 70% lived with their family.
Results
The questionnaires used were first validated by using the Bland-Altman plot and the Wilcoxon test for paired samples. The degree of adherence to the Mediterranean Diet was around 50%, similar to findings in other Mediterranean populations. We highlight the mean consumption of milk and milk products (300–317 g/day) and of fruit/vegetables (250 g/day), which are slightly below recommendations. Our study subjects were all autonomous in their movements and were physically independent: 80% reported that they performed some type of physical activity.
Conclusion
In this study, both adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and physical activity were considered as components of a healthy life. In summary, a majority of this elderly population was slightly overweight, considered themselves to be in good health.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Borkan GA, Hults DE, Gerzof SG, Robbins AH, Silbert CK. (1983) Age changes in body composition revealed by computed tomography. J Gerontol 38:673–677.
Silver AJ, Guillen CP, Kahl MJ, Morley JE. (1993) Effect of aging on body fat. J Am Geriatr Soc 41:211–213.
Trichopoulou A, Costacou T, Bamia C & Trichopoulos D (2003)Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet and Survival in a Greek Population. New Engl J Med. 348:2595–2596.
Report of a Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation (2001) Human energy requirements, FOOD and NUTRITION TECHNICAL REPORT SERIE S. ISSN: 1813-3932.
Poehlman, E.T. (1992) Energy expenditure and requirements in aging humans. J. Nutr. 122: 2057–2065.
Poehlman, E.T., Goran, M.J., Gardner, A.W., Ades, P.A., Arciero, P.J., Katzman-Rooks, S.M., Montgomery, S.M., Toth, M.J. & Sutherland, P.T. (1993) Determinants of decline in resting metabolic rate in aging females. Am. J. Physiol. 264: E450–E455.
Roberts S., Dallal, D.E. (2001) Energy requirements and aging. Energy working paper No. 8R prepared for the joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation on Energy in Human Nutrition
Villarino Rodríguez A, García-Linares Mdel C, García-Arias MT, García-Fernández Mdel C. (2002) [Anthropometric assessment and vitamin intake by a group of elderly institucionalized individuals in the province of Leon (Spain)]. Nutr Hosp. Nov–Dec; 17(6):290–295.
Wendel-Vos GC, Schuit AJ, Saris WH, Kromhout D. (2003) Reproducibility and relative validity of the short questionnaire to assess health-enhancing physical activity. J Clin Epidemiol. 56(12):1163–1169.
Erlichman J, Kerbey AL, James WP. (2002) Physical activity and its impact on health outcomes Paper 1: The impact of physical activity on cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: an historical perspective. Obes Rev. 3(4):257–271.
Erlichman J, Kerbey AL, James WP. (2002) Physical activity and its impact on health outcomes. Paper 2: Prevention of unhealthy weight gain and obesity by physical activity: an analysis of the evidence. Obes Rev. 3(4):273–287.
Pollock ML, Wenger NK. (1998) Physical Activity and Exercise Training in the Elderly: A Position Paper from the Society of Geriatric Cardiology. Am J Geriatr Cardiol. 7(4):45–46
Manini TM, Everhart JE, Patel KV, Schoeller DA, Colbert LH, Visser M, Tylavsky F, Bauer DC, Goodpaster BH, Harris TB. (2006) Daily activity energy expenditure and mortality among older adults. JAMA. 12;296 (2):171–179.
Saris WH, Tarnopolsky MA. (2003) Controlling food intake and energy balance: which macronutrient should we select? Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 6(6):609–613.
Westerterp K R., Meijer E P (2001) Physical Activity and Parameters of Aging: A Physiological Perspective Journals of Gerontology 56A (Special Issue II):7–12
Kokkinos PF, Papademetriou V. (2000) Exercise and hypertension. Coron Artery Dis; 11: 99–102)
Pitsavos C, Panagiotakos DB, Chrysohoou C, Kokkinos PF, Skoumas J, Papaioannou I, Stefanadis C, Toutouzas P (2002) The effect of the combination of Mediterranean diet and leisure time physical activity on the risk of developing acute coronary syndromes, in hypertensive subjects Journal of Human Hypertension 16: 517–524
Murtagh EM, Boreham CA, Nevill A, Hare LG, Murphy MH. (2005) The effects of 60 minutes of brisk walking per week, accumulated in two different patterns, on cardiovascular risk. Prev Med. 41(1):92–97.
Melzer K, Kayser B, Saris WH, Pichard C. (2005) Effects of physical activity on food intake. Clin Nutr. 24(6):885–895.
Pekkanen J, Marti B, Nissinen A, Tuomilehto J, Punsar S, Karvonen MJ et al (1987). Reduction of premature mortality by high physical activity: a 20-year follow-up of middleaged Finnish men. Lancet 255:1473–1477.
Panagiotakos DB, Pitsavos C, Skoumas Y, Lentzas Y, Stefanadis C (2008) Five-year incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus among cardiovascular disease-free Greek adults: findings from the ATTICA study. Vasc Health Risk Manag. 4(3):691–698.
Pate RR, Pratt M, Blair SN, Haskell WL. (1995) Physical activity and public health. JAMA 273: 402–407.
Vardavas CI, Linardakis MK, Hatzis CM, Saris WH, Kafatos AG (2009) Prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity among farmers from Crete (Greece), four decades after the Seven Countries Study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 19(3):156–162.
Kris-Etherton P, Eckel RH, Howard BV, St Jeor S, Bazzarre TL; Lyon Diet Heart Study. Benefits of a Mediterranean-style, national education program/AHA Step I dietary pattern on cardiovascular disease. Circulation 2001; 103: 1823–1825
Hung HC, Merchant A, Willett W, Ascherio A, Rosner BA, Rimm E, Joshipura KJ. (2003) The association between fruit and vegetable consumption and peripheral arterial disease. Epidemiology. 14(6):659–665
Pereira MA, O’Reilly E, Augustsson K, Fraser GE, Goldbourt U, Heitmann BL, Hallmans G, Knekt P, Liu S, Pietinen P, Spiegelman D, Stevens J, Virtamo J, Willett WC, Ascherio A. (2004) Dietary fiber and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. Arch Intern Med. Feb 23;164(4):370–376.
Pitsavos C, Panagiotakos D, Weinem M, Stefanadis C. (2006) Diet, exercise and the metabolic syndrome. Rev Diabet Stud. 3(3):118–126. Epub 2006 Nov 10.
Garcia-Closas R, Berenguer A, González CA (2006) Changes in food supply in Mediterranean countries from 1961 to 2001 Public Health Nutr. 9(5):661–662.
Jimenez Cruz A, Cervera Ral P, Bacardí Gascón M (2001) NOVARTIS-Dietsource v1.2. © 0105071807.
Bland J M, Altman DG. (1986) Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet, 307-310
Martinez Gonzalez MA, Sanchez-Villegas A, Faulin-Fajardo J Bioestadistica amigable (2006) 2o ed, Ed. Diaz de Santos España
Sullivan B L, Brown J, Williams P G, Meyer B J (2008) Dietary validation of a new Australian food-frequency questionnaire that estimates long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Br J Nutr. 99: 660–666
Sánchez-Villegas A, Martínez JA, De Irala J, Martínez-González A. (2002) Determinants of the adherence to an “a priori” defined Mediterranean dietary pattern. Eur J Nutr. 41(6):249–257
Cerrillo I, Olea-Serrano MF, Ibarluzea J Exposito J Torne P, Laguna J, Pedraza V. Olea N (2006) Environmental and lifestyle factors for organochlorine exposure among women living in Southern Spain. Chemosphere 62:1917–1924
Rivas A, Cerrillo I, Granada A, Miguel Mariscal-Arcas M, Olea-Serrano F (2007) Pesticide exposure of two age groups of women and its relationship with their diet Science of the Total Environment 382: 14–21
Mariscal-Arcas M, Rivas A, Monteagudo C, Granada A, Cerrillo I, Olea-Serrano F. (2009) Proposal of a Mediterranean diet index for pregnant women. Br J Nutr. Sep; 102(5):744–749.
Mariscal-Arcas M, Rivas A, Velasco J, Ortega M, Caballero AM, Olea-Serrano F. (2009) Evaluation of the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED) in children and adolescents in Southern Spain. Public Health Nutr. Sep; 12(9):1408–1412.
Mariscal-Arcas M, Romaguera D, Rivas A, Feriche B, Pons A, Tur JA, Olea-Serrano F. (2007) Diet quality of young people in southern Spain evaluated by a Mediterranean adaptation of the Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I). Br J Nutr. 98(6):1267–1273.
Velasco J, Mariscal-Arcas M, Rivas A, Caballero ML, Hernández-Elizondo J, Olea-Serrano F. (2009) Assessment of the diet of school children from Granada and influence of social factors. Nutr Hosp. 24(2):193–199.
Hernández-Elizondo J, Mariscal-Arcas M, Rivas A, Feriche B, Velasco J, Olea-Serrano F. (2009) Exposure of phytoestrogens intake through diet in a sample of females. Nutr Hosp. 24(4):445–451
Panagiotakos DB, Pitsavos C, Arvaniti F, Stefanadis (2007) Adherence to the Mediterranean food pattern predicts the prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and obesity, among healthy adults; the accuracy of the MedDietScore Prev Med. 44(4):335–340.
Panagiotakos DB, Polystipioti A, Papairakleous N, Polychronopoulos E. (2007) Long-term adoption of a Mediterranean diet is associated with a better health status in elderly people; a cross-sectional survey in Cyprus. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.; 16(2):331–337.
Bach A, Serra-Majem L, Carrasco JL, Roman B, Ngo J, Bertomeu I, Obrador B. (2006) The use of indexes evaluating the adherence to the Mediterranean diet in epidemiological studies: a review. Public Health Nutr. 9(1A):132–146.
Tur JA, Romaguera D, Pons A. (2004) Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern among the population of the Balearic Islands. Br J Nutr. 92(3):341–346.
Serra-Majem L, Ribas-Barba L, Salvador G, Serra J, Castell C, Carmen Cabezas C Plasencia A (2007) Compliance with dietary guidelines in the Catalan population: basis for a nutrition policy at the regional level (the PAAS strategy) Public Health Nutrition: 10(11A):1406–1414.
WHO 2010, Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/ ISBN 978 92 4 159 997 9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marisca-Arcas, M., Caballero-Plasencia, M.L.A., Monteagudo, C. et al. Validation of questionnaires to estimate adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and life habits in older individuals in Southern Spain. J Nutr Health Aging 15, 739–743 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-011-0136-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-011-0136-z