Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T01:07:59.542Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mediterranean Adequacy Index of Italian diets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Adalberta Alberti-Fidanza  and
Flaminio Fidanza
Adalberta Alberti-Fidanza*
Affiliation:
Nutrition Section, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Perugia, Via S. Vetturino 4/B, I-06126, Italy
Flaminio Fidanza
Affiliation:
Nutrition Section, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Perugia, Via S. Vetturino 4/B, I-06126, Italy
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

To assess, particularly in longitudinal studies, how close or far the food intakes of population groups are from a reference dietary pattern.

Design:

Computation of an index, called the Mediterranean Adequacy Index (MAI), by dividing the sum of the percentage of total energy from typical Mediterranean food groups by the sum of the percentage of total energy from non-typical Mediterranean food groups. The reference Italian–Mediterranean diet utilised was that of subjects from Nicotera in 1960.

Setting:

Different areas in Italy.

Subjects:

Men aged 45–65 years at the start of the study from rural areas of Italy in the Seven Countries Study followed for 26 years (Crevalcore and Montegiorgio), elderly men and women from Perugia followed for 11 years, men and women from Pollica (Salerno) followed for 32 years, and families from Rofrano (Salerno) followed for 41 years.

Results:

The median value of MAI among 40–59-year-old men from Nicotera in 1960 was 7.2; in Crevalcore it was 2.9 in 1965 and 2.2 in 1991; and in Montegiorgio, 5.6 in 1965 and 3.9 in 1991. In Pollica, the values in men ranged from 5.6 to 6.3 in 1967 and from 2.4 to 4.5 in 1999; for women, the corresponding ranges were 4.2–7.2 and 2.7–4.1. In elderly men of Perugia, median MAI value was 4.9 in 1976 and 3.2 in 1987; for women, the corresponding values were 3.1 and 2.6.

Conclusions:

The diet of these Italian population groups has changed over the last four decades, progressively abandoning the nutritional characteristics of the reference Italian–Mediterranean diet. The MAI proposed is simple to compute; it has satisfactory discriminating power particularly for longitudinal dietary data with only a few limitations.

Keywords

Mediterranean dietMediterranean Adequacy IndexSeven Countries StudyDietary studies in ItalyReference Italian–Mediterraneandietary pattern
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 7 , Issue 7 , October 2004 , pp. 937 - 941
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2004

References

1Farchi, G, Fidanza, F, Grossi, P, Lancia, A, Mariotti, S, Menotti, A. Relationship between eating patterns meeting recommendations and subsequent mortality in 20 years. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1995; 49: 408–19.Google Scholar
2Huijbregts, PPCW, Feskens, EIM, Rasanen, L, Alberti-Fidanza, A, Mutanen, M, Fidanza, F, et al. Dietary intake in five ageing cohorts of men in Finland, Italy, and the Netherlands. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1995; 49: 852–60.Google ScholarPubMed
3Alberti-Fidanza, A. Mediterranean meal patterns. Bibliotheca Nutritio et Dieta 1990; 45: 59–71.Google Scholar
4Fidanza, F. The Mediterranean Italian diet: keys to contemporary thinking. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 1991; 50: 519–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Fidanza, F, Alberti-Fidanza, A. Rilevamento dei consumi alimentari di alcune famiglie in tre zone agricole d'Italia. Quaderni Nutrizione 1971; 31: 139–88.Google Scholar
6Alberti-Fidanza, A, Fidanza, F, Chiuchiù, MP, Verducci, G, Fruttini, D. Dietary studies on two rural Italian population groups of the Seven Countries Study. 3. Trend of food and nutrient intake from 1960 to 1991. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999; 53: 854–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Fidanza, F, Coli, R, Maurizi Coli, A, Sarchielli, P, Simonetti, MS. Nutritional status of the elderly in Perugia. Age & Nutrition 1992; 3: 64–8.Google Scholar
8Cresta, M, Mammetti, M, Grippo, F, Calandra, P. 1954–1997. Quarantatre anni di storia dell'alimentazione in un'area del Cilento (Rofrano, Salerno) 4. Consumi alimentari, apporto di energia e nutrienti. Rivista Antropologia 1998; 76: 35–43.Google Scholar
9Kant, AK. Indexes of overall diet quality: a review. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1996; 96: 785–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Kant, AK, Graubard, BL. Variability in selected indexes of overall diet quality. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research 1999; 69: 419–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed