@article{3082390,
    title = "Nutritional habits in the Mediterranean basin. The macronutrient
composition of diet and its relation with the traditional Mediterranean
diet. Multi-centre study of the Mediterranean Group for the Study of
Diabetes (MGSD)",
    author = "Karamanos, B and Thanopoulou, A and Angelico, F and Assaad-Khalil, S and and Barbato, A and Del Ben, M and Dimitrijevic-Sreckovic, V and Djordjevic, and P and Gallotti, C and Katsilambros, N and Migdalis, I and Mrabet, M and and Petkova, M and Roussi, D and Tenconi, MT",
    journal = "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition",
    year = "2002",
    volume = "56",
    number = "10",
    pages = "983-991",
    publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
    issn = "0954-3007, 1476-5640",
    doi = "10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601413",
    keywords = "dietary habits; Mediterranean diet",
    abstract = "Objective: To compare the nutritional habits among six Mediterranean
countries and also with the various official recommendations and the
‘Mediterranean diet’ as originally described.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Settings: Three centres in Greece, two in Italy and one in Algeria,
Bulgaria, Egypt and Yugoslavia.
Subjects: Randomly selected non-diabetic subjects from the general
population, of age 35 - 60, not on diet for at least 3 months before the
study.
Interventions: A dietary questionnaire validated against the 3-Day Diet
Diary was used. Demographic data were collected and anthropometrical
measurements done.
Results: All results were age adjusted. Energy intake varied in men,
from 1825 kcal/day in Italy-Rome to 3322 kcal/day in Bulgaria and in
women, from 1561 kcal/day in Italy-Rome to 2550 kcal/day in Algeria.
Protein contribution (%) to the energy intake varied little, ranging
from 13.4% in Greece to 18.5% in Italy-Rome, while fat ranged from
25.3% in Egypt to 40.2% in Bulgaria and carbohydrates from 41.5% in
Bulgaria to 58.6% in Egypt. Fibre intake, g/1000 kcal, ranged from 6.8
in Bulgaria to 13.3 in Egypt and the ratio of plant to animal fat from
1.2 in Bulgaria to 2.8 in Greece. The proportion of subjects following
the WHO and the Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group (DNSG) of the EASD
recommendations for carbohydrates, fat and protein ranged from 4.2% in
Bulgaria to 75.7% in Egypt. Comparison with the Mediterranean diet, as
defined in the seven Country Study, showed significant differences
especially for fruit, 123 - 377 vs 464g/day of the Mediterranean diet,
meat, 72 - 193 vs 35g/day, cheese, 15 - 79 vs 13g/day, bread, 126 - 367
vs 380g/day.
Conclusions: (a) Dietary habits of the ‘normal’ population vary greatly
among the Mediterranean countries studied. (b) Egypt is closest to the
DNSG recommendations. (c) Significant differences from the originally
described Mediterranean diet are documented in most Mediterranean
countries, showing a Westernization of the dietary habits."
}