title: Mediterranean Diet and Its Correlates among Adolescents in Non-Mediterranean European Countries: A Population-Based Study.
abstract: Little is known about the factors which might influence the adherence to a Mediterranean diet in non-Mediterranean European countries. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to determine the associations between socioeconomic, psychological, and physical factors on a Mediterranean diet. In this cross-sectional study, participants were 14-18-year-old adolescents (N= 3071) from two non-Mediterranean countries: Lithuania (N= 1863) and Serbia (N= 1208). The dependent variable was Mediterranean diet, and was assessed with the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and adolescents questionnaire. Independent variables were gender, body-mass index, self-rated health, socioeconomic status, psychological distress, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. The associations between dependent and independent variables were analyzed by using logistic regression. Results showed that higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with higher self-rated health, socioeconomic status, and physical activity, yet low adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with being female, having higher body-mass index, psychological distress, and sedentary behavior. Our findings suggest that future studies need to explore associations between lifestyle habits-especially in target populations, such as primary and secondary school students.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10-000, Croatia. dario.novak@kif.hr.
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10-000, Croatia. lovro.stefan1510@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lovro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Štefan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10-000, Croatia. rebeka.prosoli@kif.hr.
authors.forename: Rebeka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prosoli
authors.affiliation: Sports Education Faculty, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas 44221, Lithunia. arunas.emeljanovas@lsu.lt.
authors.forename: Arunas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Emeljanovas
authors.affiliation: Sports Education Faculty, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas 44221, Lithunia. brigita.mieziene@lsu.lt.
authors.forename: Brigita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mieziene
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, Belgrade 11-000, Serbia. ivana.milanovic@fsfv.bg.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Milanović
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, Belgrade 11-000, Serbia. snezana.radisavljevic@fsfv.bg.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Snežana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Radisavljević-Janić
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008097:Lithuania; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D010349:Patient Compliance; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D055771:Serbia; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: health; nutrition; physical activity; secondary-school students; sedentary behavior