The EpiDoC Unit had its article on the adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Portugal published in the journal "Nutrients"

The paper “Low Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is Associated with Poor Socioeconomic Status and Younger Age: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the EpiDoC Cohort” was published in Nutrients, written by Professors and researchers from NOVA Medical School and CHRC.

Nuno Mendonça, nutritional epidemiologist and researcher at CHRC and at the EpiDoC Unit explained to us what this study found.

“In Portugal, inadequate dietary habits are one of the leading causes for years of healthy life lost due to disability. The Mediterranean diet, recognised by UNESCO as humanity’s intangible cultural heritage, has been consistently associated with a host of health benefits, namely the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and some neurodegenerative diseases. This dietary pattern is so important that one of the aims of the Portuguese National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating is to increase its adherence. Unfortunately, adherence to the Mediterranean diet has been decreasing in southern European countries for the last decades, especially among low socioeconomic groups. Using the EpiDoC study, a population-based cohort of Portuguese adults, we estimated that almost 1/3 of the Portuguese population had low adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Those who were younger, who spent less time in formal education, and with lower income were less likely to adhere to this dietary pattern. Designing successful future public health policies to increase adherence to the Mediterranean diet should take these groups into consideration.”

This paper had the contribution of several CHRC researchers, as Nuno Mendonça, Ana Rita Henriques, Helena Canhão (CHRC coordinator) and Ana Rodrigues, among other researchers from other health institutions.

Read the full paper here: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/6/1239