title: Mediterranean diet, overweight and body composition in children from eight European countries: cross-sectional and prospective results from the IDEFICS study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A Mediterranean-like dietary pattern has been shown to be inversely associated with many diseases, but its role in early obesity prevention is not clear. We aimed to determine if this pattern is common among European children and whether it is associated with overweight and obesity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The IDEFICS study recruited 16,220 children aged 2-9 years from study centers in eight European countries. Weight, height, waist circumference, and skinfolds were measured at baseline and in 9114 children of the original cohort after two years. Diet was evaluated by a parental questionnaire reporting children's usual consumption of 43 food items. Adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet was calculated by a food frequency-based Mediterranean Diet Score (fMDS). The highest fMDS levels were observed in Sweden, the lowest in Cyprus. High scores were inversely associated with overweight including obesity (OR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.77; 0.94) and percent fat mass (β = -0.22, 95% CI: -0.43; -0.01) independently of age, sex, socioeconomic status, study center and physical activity. High fMDS at baseline protected against increases in BMI (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.78; 0.98), waist circumference (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.77; 0.98) and waist-to-height ratio (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.78; 0.99) with a similar trend observed for percent fat mass (p = 0.06).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although a Mediterranean dietary pattern is inversely associated with childhood obesity, it is not common in children living in the Mediterranean region and should therefore be advocated as part of EU obesity prevention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: gianluca.tognon@gu.se.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tognon
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS GmbH, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hebestreit
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS GmbH, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanfer
authors.affiliation: GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, Department of Preventive & Predictive Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pala
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Sciences, Unit of Epidemiology and Population Genetics, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siani
authors.affiliation: Research and Education Institute of Child Health, Strovolos, Cyprus.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tornaritis
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Henauw
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health Development, Tallin, Estonia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Veidebaum
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, University of Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Molnár
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS GmbH, Bremen, Germany; University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ahrens
authors.affiliation: Public Health Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lissner
mesh_terms: D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D005060:Europe; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055105:Waist Circumference; D044465:White People
keywords: BMI change; Change in adiposity; Childhood obesity; Fat mass; Mediterranean diet score