Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern among university students

Abstract

The Mediterranean dietary pattern is one of the healthiest dietary patterns. Despite Malta’s central location in the Mediterranean Sea, the Maltese dietary habits may have become more Westernised. The aims of this cross-sectional pilot study are to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet in students at the University of Malta and investigate the feasibility of such a study and pilot the measurement tool. A structured interview was conducted with n=50 students who were conveniently recruited outside the University premises. The interview addressed lifestyle information and questions on the participants’ consumption of food items typical of a Mediterranean dietary pattern using a literature-based score. A photographic food atlas was used to aid the quantification of food portion sizes. A maximum of 18 points score indicating adherence was generated for each participant. The majority of students were female, Maltese, aged between 18–20 years old and within the normal BMI range. Students were unlikely to consume alcohol or smoke. The majority had a low-moderate intake of fruits, vegetables and legumes, low intake of fish and high intake of meat. The mean (95% CI) adherence score to the Mediterranean dietary pattern was 8.8 (8.1, 9.5) out of 18, classifying 72% of the students as medium adherers. No significant associations were found between overall adherence and all study parameters (p-value = 0.05). This study was the first to investigate the adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern in a sample of the Maltese population. A larger sample size is required to highlight associations between adherence levels and lifestyle factors.