'The Mediterranean diet is gone': region's children are fattest in Europe

[Demovictory9]

'The Mediterranean diet is gone': region's children are fattest in Europe
The diet Greece, Spain and Italy are famous for - rich in fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil – is supposedly the healthiest in the world, but obesity is rocketing

For kids in Greece, Spain and Italy, the Mediterranean diet is dead, according to the World Health Organisation, which says that children in Sweden are more likely to eat fish, olive oil and tomatoes than those in southern Europe.

In Cyprus, a phenomenal 43% of boys and girls aged nine are either overweight or obese. Greece, Spain and Italy also have rates of over 40%. The Mediterranean countries which gave their name to the famous diet that is supposed to be the healthiest in the world have children with Europe’s biggest weight problem.

Sweets, junk food and sugary drinks have displaced the traditional diet based on fruit and vegetables, fish and olive oil, said Dr Joao Breda, head of the WHO European office for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases.

“The Mediterranean diet for the children in these countries is gone,” he said at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna. “There is no Mediterranean diet any more. Those who are close to the Mediterranean diet are the Swedish kids. The Mediterranean diet is gone and we need to recover it.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/24/the-mediterranean-diet-is-gone-regions-children-are-fattest-in-europe

'People just have less time now': is the Mediterranean diet dying out?
Parents and experts in southern Europe digest the WHO’s warning this week on fast food

Possible suspects in the demise of the Mediterranean diet are not hard to find in the food court of Plenilunio, a giant mall not far from Madrid airport that offers customers 138 shops, a multiscreen cinema and dozens of restaurants.

If visitors are not in the mood for a McDonald’s, Burger King or Subway, there’s a KFC, a kebab restaurant, a noodle place, a sandwich bar, a tex-mex joint, a US-style diner or two Italian chains. Steak lovers can choose between Argentinian, Brazilian or American options, while a lone outlet meekly peddles “healthy Asian food”.

Conspicuous by their absence – barring a couple of tapas restaurants – are places offering the kind of traditional Spanish food that forms part of the celebrated Mediterranean diet.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/25/people-just-have-less-time-now-is-the-mediterranean-diet-dying-out

[CTyankee]

1. I am so sad about this. I have loved my travels to my beloved Italy and enjoyed so much

of its food. A great cuisine!

I don't go to Europe any more but this concerns me greatly.

[Exotica]

2. Interesting that it is the PIGS countries minus Portugal (wonder where they stand/weigh in)

The PIGS were by far the most economically hit of all the core EU countries during the 2007-8 financial crisis, and still are not remotely recovered fully. Poverty equals a shit diet in the West for many.

[lpbk2713]

3. Tapas, vino and good conversation.

Sorry to see them fall by the wayside and give way to "progress".

[July]

4. It is not difficult --at all -- to find traditional Spanish fare in Madrid.

Or in Barcelona, Zaragoza, Marbella, etc.

That does not mean people aren't getting fatter, and it is true that American-style fast food is much more available than it was a couple of decades ago.

A mall is probably not the place to look for the traditional Mediterranean food, either. But it's easy to find typical Spanish food all over the country, in fancy restaurants, in bars, and in private homes. It is also served in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.

[smirkymonkey]

5. Our contribution to the world.

Fatty, nutrition-free, fast food. That alone should be considered an act of hostility.