Dietary habits in a Greek sample of men and women: the ATTICA study.
OBJECTIVE
Although there are several dietary guidelines accepted at the international and national level, there are indications that dietary habits in Greece have been changing, moving away from the traditional Mediterranean diet pattern. The aim of this work was to evaluate the dietary habits of a randomly selected sample from the general adult population, in Greece.


METHODS
The "ATTICA" study is a prospective health and nutrition survey. For the purpose of this study, 3,042 adults, from whom 1514 were men (48%) and 1,528 were women (52%), were selected from the greater Athens area during 2001 and 2002. The assessment of the dietary habits was carried out using a validated food frequency questionnaire.


RESULTS
Dietary intakes of red meat and sweets were higher (p<0.005), and dietary intakes of fish, poultry, dairy products, vegetables, and cereals were lower (p<0.05) than the ones recommended by the Hellenic Ministry of Health.


CONCLUSIONS
The results from the present study indicate a change in the dietary habits towards an unhealthier type of diet.
Arvaniti
Fotini
F
Department of Nutrition-Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.
Panagiotakos
Demosthenes B
DB
Pitsavos
Christos
C
Zampelas
Antonis
A
Stefanadis
Christodoulos
C
D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011446:Prospective Studies